Falling Up
by AFandomAuthor
Summary: In a split second, the car crashed into me and I forget everything. Over the next couple of years of trying to pick up the pieces, I found my hope in a girl named Haruhi Fujioka. I was adopted by her family and now I was someone- Kenji Fujioka. The name rolls off my tongue so easily and it became my identity. I thought that was all; that is until I met him and remembered.
1. Prologue

It was in a split second that my life came crashing down, or well crashing in. On the eve of my seventh birthday, I was running away from some men who had tried to kidnap me from my home. I ran as fast as I could go all the way to a busy street intersection to escape them by crossing the road and changing directions, but it wasn't far enough. Instead of grabbing me like they planned, I pushed out on to the road. Luckily for me, the car that hit me was slowing down and coming to a stop for the light had just changed to red. The timing may have been right, but the car still hit me with enough force that I was flung backwards through the air in an arc. The impact with the concrete was hard and as soon as I landed I lost consciousness.

I awoke in a hospital room. I laid still, unsure of where I was. I peered around the room, struggling to think and come to a conclusion, when I realized that I didn't even know who I was. _What was my name?_ I thought over and over again. I didn't know. Why didn't I know? Freeing myself from the questions I couldn't answer, I finally felt the pain of the accident. Every muscle in my body was aching, every bone in my body felt broken, and every thought hurt to think. The silent tears formed in my eyes and fell in slow cascading streams that stung my eyes and burned my cheeks.

How long had I cried before a nurse came in to check on me I didn't know. She comforted me and told me that I had been in a car accident. Her sweet words didn't help me much and I felt the tears threatening to resurface. She asked what my name was and I couldn't even tell her that much. I was hopeless. She said not to worry because a man had come up claiming to be my father. In my state, I wouldn't even have recognized myself. So how would I recognize someone else?

After a few weeks of recovering in the hospital, I was finally allowed to be released. The man claiming to be my father visited nearly every day and I slowly began to lose my wariness about him. Something about him seemed off, despite all the kind things he had been doing for me. I was given a plain sea green sundress to change into before my release. While trying to change into it, I was having so much trouble figuring out how to put it on that I had to ask for help from the nice nurse that had been treating me. She helped me change and get ready to leave. Bending down to my level, the loving nurse pulled out a small stuffed animal. It was a round puff of a pink bunny with a particular smile. Hanging around its neck was a ring. The ring was small enough to fit on my finger and I realized that it was mine own from before the accident. When I asked if it was mine, the nurse nodded and handed me the stuffed animal. A huge smile grew on face when I took the bunny in my arms; for the first time I had remembered something from before the accident. I took her hand in mine and together we walked outside of the hospital. We said our goodbyes and I climbed into my father's rather large car. I waved back at the nurse for as long as I could until she disappeared from my view.

It was soon in time that I came to find that the kind man who visited me in the hospital was not the same man who I now lived with. He was cruel and oppressive and forced upon me things I didn't want. From the day that I got there, I was beaten and forced to work as slave. Seven years later on the cusp of my fourteenth birthday, I heard the man talking about what he planned to do with me. I heard the words I was so afraid of so I ran. I took buses and trains trying to get away from him. I was so worn and exhausted I collapsed in a neighborhood park one day. There I was found by a girl who was a little older than me. She didn't ask who I was or what happened, she took to me in and cared for me. She helped stop running for the terrors I thought were always chasing me.

In their compassion, the girl and her father made the choice to adopt me. It wasn't long before I had come full circle with the Fujioka family and for the first time in forever, I was happy again. Haruhi and her father gave me hope and a home and I am forever thankful for that. I would no longer be Kenji the girl who always runs away from her problems. I would become Kenji Fujioka, the girl who has a family that cares for her and a place to live in.

Soon, it came time for Haruhi and me to move on into high school. Together Haruhi and I decided we wanted to apply for Ouran Academy, the school for the rich and the elite. Haruhi tried out for the academic scholarship and I went for the talent scholarship. To our surprise we both got in. We couldn't afford the uniforms, which were a costly 30,000-yen. I didn't care that we stuck out from the crowds of students at Ouran. I was happy as I could be. That is until I met the Host Club and my life changed forever.


	2. Starting Today You Are A Host

**Starting Today, You are a Host! **

Closing the door to yet another library, the fourth one to be exact, I was about to give up on finding a quiet place to study and just go home to rest. In the hope that we might actually find somewhere, my sister Haruhi kept walking and I grudgingly trudged along behind her.

"You think that there would be one quiet place to study in this huge building," Haruhi grumbled angrily as she walked away from the last library.

"Yeah, why have four libraries if they're all crowded with talking people. Why don't they just go home if they are not going to study! " I complained with her, coming closer to being ready to drop and give up on walking altogether. I increased my pace so that we could continue to walk side-by-side in a search for somewhere quiet. Then we eventually came upon a room labeled Music Room #3. There was no noise coming from it so I assumed that it was abandoned and empty. Boy, how much I was wrong in that assumption.

As Haruhi and I pushed open the door, rose petals swirled toward us in a gentle breeze and a group of voices chorused in harmony, "Welcome." When the light and the random flower petals cleared from my view, I was able to see six guys posing in front of us. One was blonde with violet eyes… maybe French? Anyway, he was in the middle sitting in a rather grand chair. Next to him was a guy with black hair and what I call onyx eyes. He had on glasses and was presumably the brains of this operation. Left of him was a pair of twins – hey! Those two devils are in our class… why those two evil auburn haired golden, brown eyed doppelgänging demons have done nothing but cause trouble for me! I mean if someone is sleeping during class, it means they want to sleep─ and not be poked in the face! Anyway, there was also one really tall guy standing in the back; he had black hair, gray eyes and a stoic looking face despite the fact that a childish-looking golden-topped boy was sitting on a shoulder and appeared to be holding a pink bunny. _Huh, those two look familiar. Why? _The random thought struck me, but I turned away from it when Haruhi started talking.

"T-this is the h-host club…" Haruhi gulped beside me, catching my attention and pulling me away from my observations. _Oh, shit. Not the Host Club. Anything but the Host Club, please! Why? Why? Why!? Why did we have to accidently walk into the Host Club's room? _I thought as I started to back away towards the door and a shaking Haruhi. I had a sinking feeling in stomach that something bad was going down and I wanted off that ship–immediately!

"Oh wow, it's just some guys." The twins said in unison. _What!? Who the hell are they calling guys? _I looked down at myself and then at Haruhi and well it did make sense. Between our short messy hair, baggy clothes, and my height, it made sense that they thought we were boys, but I still didn't appreciate the comment.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, I believe these young men are in the same class as you, aren't they?" the one with the glasses said next, phrasing it less like a question and more like a statement. _He seems like a such a smartass…_

"Yeah, but they're shy. They don't act very sociably so we don't know a lot about them," the twins answered, shrugging in sync like always.

"Oh, that isn't very polite." Glasses Guy smirked as if he figured something out and there was this weird light bulb that lit up over his head. I blinked at it a couple of times because since when do light bulbs appear out of nowhere. Well, we are in an anime and shit like that happens, and when it does it means run as fast as you can away from the weird and slightly creepy rich boys.

I turned my head away from the scene when I heard Haruhi jiggling more rapidly on the door handle.  
I frowned at the sight and came over to help her since I wanted out of that hell hole too. Just as the door came free and began to open, Glasses Guy cleared his throat and announced, "Welcome to the Ouran Host Club, Mr. Honor Students."

While I was confused as to how he knew who we were, Blondie Boy exclaimed "What!?" with a loud cry as he jumped and rushed toward us. Out of instinct, I threw out my hands to protect myself, but the ditz twirled right past my defenses and pulled Haruhi and myself into a bone-crushing hug. "Well, hello Haruhi and Kenji Fujioka! You're the two exceptional honor students we've heard about!" Both of us stopped struggling when he called us by our names. _Okay, this is bad…why do they know our names? Are they actually stalkers in disguise? Have they come to get us? No, bullshit. They're just egotistical boys with too much time on their hands and I am getting out of here NOW. _

"How do you know our names?" Haruhi stuttered, obviously freaked by the dude. I slyly smiled to myself because I know that if Haruhi is spooked, she could get angry and when she's angry at someone else I find it quite funny to watch. I waited for their answers and it was Glasses Guy who spoke first.

"Why, you're infamous. It's not every day that a commoner gains entrance into our academy, let alone two. You must have an audacious nerve to work hard enough to fight your way into this school as honor students." I nodded my head because fortunately it was a solid answer that made sense. Rich school equals rich kids. I threw my hands up in stretch and yawned as I walked over to the couches. I jumped onto a couch and got comfortable by shifting the pillows to accommodate me.

"Well ah- thank you. I guess." Haruhi responded and then noticing me moving, she turned to me to ask, "Uh, Kenji, what are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm just preparing for when they take too much damn time to tell us their names." I replied as I snuggled into the fancy couch grabbing an extravagant pillow to hold onto.

"Ah! No gentleman should talk that way!" Blondie Boy exclaimed. _Good thing I am not a gentleman. A lady perhaps, but I'm sure as hell not a gentleman. _ "As for our names," continued Blondie Boy with a twirl and a white rose, "I am Tamaki Souh, 2nd year, class A."

"Kyoya Ohtori, 2nd year, also class A," Glasses Guy announced next; him with a purple rose.

"I'm Hikaru Hitachiin," the older demon twin said holding a light blue rose, as if we weren't in class with him and couldn't possibly know his name.

"And I'm Kaoru Hitachiin," finished the second twin with his orange rose.

The little golden-haired boy told us his name was Mitsukuni Haninozuka, but he was normally called Honey. _Or was it Hunny? How the hell am I supposed to remember all of their names? I don't have the time and energy for that. _I mentally grumbled. Honey then went on to tell us that he was a third year! I thought I heard him wrong because well, he looks like he's five or six and he seems too adorable to be in high school. Motioning next to the tall guy he was piggybacking on, Honey said that was Takashi Morinosuka, but for short he was called Mori.

Finally that was all of their names and I had to stifle a yawn because they really dragged that scene out with all the roses and sparkles. _Ah, well first introductions are the most important._ Haruhi hoped to leave at that, but Blondie Boy… I mean Tamaki stopped her at the door when she turned to motivate me forward and out of the room. He appeared out of nowhere and wrapped his arms around Haruhi's shoulders. "You guys are the heroes of poor people. You showed that even the commoners can get into an elite academy." His closeness was bothering Haruhi so she removed herself from his grasp. I guess Tamaki took this action a different way when he said, "It must be hard being looked down upon, but don't worry, we welcome you to our beautiful world." Once again, more random rose petals flew through the air circulating the annoying host. _Where the hell are those god damn petals coming from? _I looked around the room, trying to find the source when I saw it- the ominous red blinking arrow pointing to what looked like a really expensive vase. _OH, SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! RED ARROW POINTING AT EXPENSIVE VASE! THAT MEANS BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN AND I AIN'T PAYING FOR IT!_

"Haruhi, let's leave right now!" I blurted out as I jumped up from the couch and ran over to Haruhi. Grabbing her arm, I began to yank her out the door. We had only covered a few steps when suddenly we were twirling around. Once the spinning receded and the dizziness began to clear, we looked down to see Honey staring happily up at us. _Aw, he's really cute when he smiles like that… no! Remember the arrow; we have to get out. If we don't get out, that vase will smash and someone will have to pay for it._

"Hey! Come back here, Haru-chan and Ken-chan! You must be superheroes or something! That's so cool!" Honey exclaimed with a huge smile. I could feel begin to Haruhi tense up beside me and I knew she was about to snap.

"We're not superheroes; we're honor students. And… WHO ARE YOU CALLING HARU-CHAN!" Haruhi yelled as she snapped from annoyance. _Ha, I called it. _Though Haruhi's outburst did make Honey cry, I couldn't blame him…Haruhi's really scary when she's mad. Feeling pity for him, my eyes softened a bit and I flashed him a small smile. I patted his head as I looked up to see Mori watching us. I guessed it is because he seems protective of Honey. _Oh, well. What's next to surprise me?_

Once again, Tamaki startled me out of my thoughts when he muttered aloud, "Hmm, I never imagined the famous scholars would be so openly gay."

"Openly what?!" Haruhi and I breathed as looked at each other, confused as hell. _This was one step to far for me. I mean being mistaken as a guy is one thing, but being called gay and then flirted with is just too weird for me. _

"So tell me what kind of guys you're into," Tamaki inquired as he advanced toward us. "The strong silent type?" He pointed to Mori. "The boy-Lolita?" He moved his finger over to Honey. "How about the mischievous type?" Tamaki gestured next to the twins. "Or maybe the cool type?" He rested his finger on Kyoya, the last person aside from himself. _Who actually answers that question? _

Pulling us toward him, I managed to slip away from his grasp. Haruhi wasn't as lucky as she was twirled further into his clutches. He tilted her chin up and stepped closer into her personal space. _Ha, at least it isn't me. Sucks to suck…_ "Or maybe you're into a guy like me? What do you say?" Tamaki asked the final question. Haruhi, shaking now, jumped back from Tamaki and into me. As I stumbled backward, I ran into the pedestal and the blinking red arrow. _Shit. This is bad. REAL BAD! _

Haruhi continued to try to reason with them, "I uh… I-It's not like that… We were trying to find a quiet place to study." Her words were in vain as the boys were paying more attention to the crashing of the vase. The vase tumbled down as if in slow motion, but I still failed to catch it and I still ended up among the shards. I felt the sting of the glass cutting my arm. Tears started to well in my eyes, but I blinked them away. Now was not the time for weaknesses. I had to get out of this place before I treated my own wounds. _These devils will be the death of me and it's only been minutes into knowing them._

"Aww, we were going to feature that Renaissance vase in an upcoming school auction." Hikaru pouted, towering over me as I had not yet gotten back up from the floor.

"Tell me you're kidding." I begged slightly, but not completely because begging is beneath me. _I knew I shouldn't have done anything. Red arrows mean things happen. If I hadn't interfered, it wouldn't have been my problem. But it would have been Haruhi's though. _

"Oh now you've done it, commoner. The bidding on that vase was going start at 8 million yen." Kaoru replied, obvious displeasure coating his words.

"8 million yen!" Haruhi yelped. "How many thousand yen is that? How many thousands are in 8 million? ... We-we're gonna have to pay you back." She looked at me despairingly. I matched her grim look and shrugged a 'I told you to leave and this is what happened.'

"With what money? You guys can't even afford your own school uniforms." The twins cruelly mocked, enjoying this way more than they should have. "What's with those grubby outfits you've got on anyway?" Kaoru added for an extra measure.

"Well, what do you think we should do, Tamaki?" Kyoya asked scribbling in a black notebook he was carrying.

Tamaki smugly smiled and returned to his way-to-fancy chair, leaned back in it, and crossed his legs. Tamaki then went on to grandly announce our fate. "There's a famous saying you may have heard, Fujiokas. 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' Since you have no money, you can pay with your body. That means, starting today, you are the host club's dogs."

_WHAT!?_

My eyes widened from the shock and my body went slack midst the confusion. I turned to Haruhi to check on how she was processing the situation since she has less experience in this department then I do. Haruhi looked so shocked that she was petrified. Her whole body was white as a sheet and then when Honey poked her in the cheek, she began to sway. I caught her and easily hefted her over my shoulder with only small groan. Walking finally towards the door, I turned once more to face the six confused boys and said, "Don't worry. We will be here tomorrow." And with that, I made my exit from the Host Club's room.

"Those two are really strange." I heard who I think was Honey say to someone before the doors closed for the day.

* * *

"Haruhi, I need you go get these items," Tamaki ordered.

As Haruhi turned to walk out the door, I took three steps and then threw my body to the floor in an exasperated and exhausted manor. Lying stomach down, I sprawled my arms out and gave a loud 'humph.'

"Kenji, get up," Haruhi said as she nudged me with her foot.

"Noooooooo. I…just…too…tired….I can't… make…this…errand run." I gasped out, faking being too tired to move. I am really an incredibly lazy person.

"Get up. I know you're faking, you lazy fool," Haruhi mercilessly ordered me, but I paid no attention to her somewhat futile efforts.

"Go on without me. I'll only slow you down," I tried to reason with her, praying that it would work this time and luckily it did.

"Fine, but you're cooking dinner tonight."

"I'll take that, and anyway you should get going. You don't want Blondie Boy or Glasses Guy getting on your case," I said as I shooed her off. She finally turned and walked out the door, still scoffing at my nicknames for the two hosts. Once she was out the door, I got up and moved my position to the couches. I promptly curled up and fell asleep.

It seemed that it was only a few minutes later when I felt someone poke my cheek. Not caring who it was I flipped them over the couch and rolled over as if I was ignoring their presence.

"No fair, Kenji!" A voice who I recognized as Hikaru whined.

"You shouldn't have poked me!" I retorted as I shifted over to look at him sprawled on the ground.

"You shouldn't have been sleeping on my couch!" He fired back.

"Fine, have your couch." I said rolling off the couch and onto him.

"Oof! What are you doing?"

"Getting off your couch since you asked."

"But why are you on me?" Hikaru clarified his question as he struggled with my weight.

"Because you're more comfy than the floor," I mumbled into his chest and that's when I felt Hikaru stiffen up, realizing my true gender. He moved his hand under my chin and lifted my head so he could look into my eyes.

"Kenji," Hikaru paused to gulp slightly before continuing to ask the question of the hour, "You're a girl, aren't you?"

"Yes, but could you please not tell?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper as I looked into the perfectly golden orbs he called eyes. _Gah! I sound like a love struck girl. _I thought as I shock the idea away. _But you have to admit that his eyes are pretty._

"Why?"

"Because I want to see how long I can play them, those fools." I maliciously smiled at the boy beneath me, knowing he cared for pranks as much as I did. Slowly, he matched my smile. I rolled off him and got up reaching out my hand to help Hikaru up. The timing was perfect because right as we both were standing Kaoru and the other hosts walked in. There was no evidence of our conversation on floor, except the slight blush that covered both of our cheeks. I quickly turned away, hoping he wouldn't see and make fun of me as if I was just another fangirl falling in love. I didn't know where my heart would lay, but I sure as hell wouldn't just throw it randomly at the first boy who noticed me for who I am.

Luckily for me, the scene passed quickly, going unnoticed to the hosts and their guests who had shortly filed into the room. Soon even Haruhi had returned to the club room with the groceries. Business began to go on. The twins doing their weird and obviously played up act of 'brotherly love;' Honey and Mori being cute and stoic; Kyoya working as calculating as ever; and Tamaki was being… Blondie Boy.

Strolling to close to Blondie Boy, I was forced to hear Tamaki entertain aka flirt with the guests. Their babble was so mind-blowingly stupid that I felt I lost brain cells hearing it.

"Tamaki, what is your favorite song?"

"What song? The one that reminds me of you, of course."

"I baked you a cake today. Would you like to taste it?"

"Only if you feed it to me, darling." Tamaki said as he caressed her chin and lifted it up. _Ah, never underestimate the power of that move. It comes close to the upward glance into the eyes. Hosting is so easy it's cake…like Honey's cake. Maybe I'll get a piece from him later. _

"Oh how you're so dreamy."

Still stuck in my thoughts, I failed to notice that Tamaki had looked up and noticed me. I breathed a few choice cuss words under my breath as I trudged toward him.

"May I have a word with you, Tamaki?" a redheaded regular asked before continuing, "I've recently heard the Host Club's keeping little kittens without pedigrees."

"I don't know if I'd call them that. Speak of the devils," Tamaki said, finally noticing Haruhi who had just come in and me who had just come over.

"Thanks for doing the shopping, little piglets."

"Yeah, whatever," Haruhi mumbled even though she had just arrived and I had done no shopping whatsoever.

"Did you get everything on our list?" Tamaki asked, gesticulating to the shopping bags.

"What? Piglets?" Haruhi said while sweat-dropping. I forced myself not to strangle Blondie Boy. I may be a "dog," but I am sure as hell not a "piglet." But, I have to admit that it's going to be a good reaction when they finally figure out we're girls. I am holding out a hope that Tamaki's is the best. Besides, Hikaru knew about me being a girl and I could safely assume that Kyoya already knew.

"Hey, wait a minute! What is this?" Tamaki asked, holding a container of instant coffee that he had pulled from the bag._ Yuck! Haruhi, why are you so cheap that you buy that disgusting excuse for coffee? Why you no buy good stuff? _

"Just what it looks like. It's coffee," Haruhi responded.

"I've never seen this brand before. Is it the kind that's already ground?" He questioned further. _Can he not read the container in his hand? It says it right on the package what it is. _

"What do you mean? It's instant coffee," was Haruhi's blunt reply.

"It's instant?" the two girls on the opposite couch from Tamaki asked tilting their heads to the side in confusion. All this commotion began drawing a crowd as the Host Club members started magically appearing next to the couch. They huddled around the couch and the coffee.

"Wow! I've heard of this before! It's commoner's coffee!" Tamaki excitedly brandished the container in the air. "You just add hot water!"

"I didn't know there was such a thing," one girl said.

"So, it's true then, poor people don't even have time to ground their own coffee beans." Some other girls whispered amongst themselves. I only shook my head at their ignorance.

"Commoners are pretty smart." Kyoya said, almost in demeaning fashion, as he rested his head on his chin in his classic move.

"100 grams for 300 yen," Hikaru read from the container– finally.

"That's a lot less than what we normally pay." Kaoru added in a little bit of wonder awe. _You don't say? You rich bastards. _I mentally imagined the meme in my head and chuckled at how fitting it was for the situation.

Frustrated, Haruhi frowned and gave in, saying, "I'll go back and get something else. Excuse me for not buying you guys expensive coffee." _Serves you right for buying cheap, Haruhi. _

"No," Tamaki shocked the group by saying it, "I'll keep it. I am going to give it a try. I will drink this coffee." Everyone stared at him like he had said something amazing, and then suddenly everyone began clapping. I raised my eyebrows and scoffed at their ridiculous behavior. I caught Kyoya's gaze and we shared the look 'we are surrounded by idiots.' Kyoya cracked a small smile as he looked down to scribble in his black notebook. _Maybe there is a person behind that calculating shell…_

"Why would you want to drink that crap? It's bland and disgusting," I muttered aloud, but everyone was too busy with excitement to hear my mutterings.

"All right, Haruhi, Kenji, get over here and make some of this commoner's coffee," Tamaki ordered us. He handed the container to me and I handed it to Haruhi. She looked at me and I shrugged.

"You brought it, you make it." I turned away from her grumbling form and headed over to where the club had an espresso machine to make myself a latte. I wondered for a bit why such a thing would be in a music room, but I realized a couple days ago to stop questioning why things are the way they are in this place.

When I got to bar and turned back to face Haruhi, I saw standing her right behind one of Tamaki's regulars. Because of her position, I was unable to read her lips but I knew it wasn't something very nice. Haruhi, the levelheaded heroine of this story, can shrug off cruel words while as I, the sarcastic and increasingly dramatic side character, would have strangled the obnoxious redheaded bitch of a princess. Briskly hurrying away, Haruhi went to make the 'commoner's coffee,' while I busied myself in the coffee making of a vente double shot vanilla latte with extra whip and extra vanilla- my favorite simple drink.

Everyone seemed excited to drink the coffee. Haruhi finished pouring the coffee and she starting serving it. Soon everyone had a cup in their hands.

"I'm a little scared to drink this stuff," one girl worried.

Another mumbled, "I'm afraid that if I drink this, my father will yell at me."

"What if I let you drink if from my mouth?" Tamaki consoled the anxious girl.

"Oh, well then, I would drink it," the girl swooned in Blondie Boy's arms.

"Ahhh!" The girls all screamed and squealed, hearts forming in their eyes and around them.

"This is ridiculous," I heard Haruhi mutter to herself and she's right.

"Yep, it's just instant. It's not even that good as hand ground beans." I muttered to myself, taking a sip of my drink. A few girls were able to smell it and they wanted to know what it was. I told them it was a handcrafted coffee drink. Feeling nice, I asked if they wanted one and what type of drink they wanted. Getting the information, I headed back to the bar where the coffee machine was.

Kyoya blocked my path, asking "Why did you do that?"

"I did it because I am a nice person," I responded instantly, faking an innocent smile.

"Don't make me call your BS. Why did you do it?" Kyoya pressed further. Clearly, Kyoya likes to know things that aren't his business.

"Fine," I eventually said, caving to his harsh gaze, "I did it because I used to work as a hostess for a bit and it's a habit to offer coffee or drinks to others. And…" I paused to clear my throat, "I charged them on the down low."

"Ah, just what I thought. I guess they will just be charged twice," Kyoya chuckled calculatingly. He sauntered away, heading back to the customers and more profits. I quickly made the drinks for the customers and I nicely plated them on a platter. Lifting the platter above my head butler style, I gracefully served the coffee to the girls, who were waiting over by the couches.

"Thank you, Kenji." A girl said between sips.

"Wow, Kenji. This is delicious," another girl praised. Blushingly from the praise, I gave them a real genuine and rare smile. This earned me more than a few squeals. Chuckling, I thanked them as I bowed and left them to their coffee.

* * *

Later on, Haruhi and I were cleaning up the dishes those rich bastards left when we strayed too close to the twins who were 'hosting' if you could even call it that.

"So he had this nightmare that made him bolt upright out of bed," Hikaru was telling some girls.

"Hikaru, don't tell them that story! I asked you not to tell anyone that," Kaoru quickly interjected, feigning emotion, but Hikaru ignored him as he continued with a small sly smile. _So, it's all an act. They care for each other, but the stories they tell and how they act is all played up. _

"Why are you so mean to me?" Kaoru cried with tears welling in his eyes. _What demonic saps! _I thought to myself, but still I was unable to turn away from the scene unfolding in front of me.

Bringing Kaoru close to him and tilting his chin up, Hikaru consoled Kaoru by saying, "I'm sorry, Kaoru. I didn't mean to upset you, but you were so adorable when it happened that I had to tell them. I'm sorry."

"Oh, Hikaru… I forgive you."

"Ahhh, I've never seen brotherly love quite like that."

_Oh, gag me with a spoon. _

Talking to me, Haruhi pondered aloud, "What are they so excited about? I just don't get it." Haruhi, sweat-dropping, looked at me for an answer. I shrugged, the male species is so weird and combine it stupidity and well la, the scene we have in front of us. Feeling creeped out, Haruhi and I swiftly made our exit from the boys with the trays of dishes in our hands. Once we dropped off the trays in back room, we headed back out into the main area again. There we saw Mori walking over to some girls who were patiently waiting on the couches. The scene was rather cute with Honey piggybacking on Mori.

"Sorry, we're running late. I was waiting for Takashi at his Kendo meeting and I feel asleep. And I'm still not completely awake." Honey explained while yawning excessively.

"SO CUTE~!" The girls watching him squealed and for once I actually agreed with them.

"Hey Honey," I greeted the boy-Lolita, tilting my head up to look at him since he was sitting on Mori's shoulder and Mori is nine inches taller than me, "Thanks for finally coming. It's nice when you join us and same goes for you Mori."

"Hi, Ken-chan! I was waiting for Takashi at kendo." Honey cheerily replied, not missing a single beat despite his tiredness.

"Yeah, I heard you. You know I love kendo. I guess I like to say I'm pretty good." I said as humbly as I could, but it probably wasn't too humble.

"Really?" Honey excitedly asked, "You do kendo?"

"I used to; I haven't had the time in a while since I…huh, I don't remember… but I like all sorts of martial arts!" I told him with a cheeky grin. "Tell me more about what you guys do, please?"

"Sure!" And with that Honey launched into his story-telling at full force.

I faintly heard Haruhi saying in the background "Is that boy really a third year student?" I stayed listening to Honey until Kyoya called me away so he could talk to Haruhi and me about some whatnot stuff. I smiled to Honey for one last time before leaving. And as I left, I swear I saw another light bulb light up. While Kyoya started talking to us, I began to zone it out since I thought it was rather boring and anyway he was talking mostly to Haruhi. Suddenly the room started to spin when a voice who I pegged as Honey shouted, "Ken-chan~! Haru-chan~!" The tiny boy managed to spin both of us around by our arms, turning the world into a fast moving blur. "Hey, do you want to have some cake with me?" Honey asked when he stopped twirling us around.

"I don't really like sweets." Haruhi mumbled out still dizzy. I tried to shake my head yes, but the simple shaking made the dizziness increase. I started to sway when Mori came over from what seemed like nowhere and steadied me with his hands.

I looked up to up to him and whispered thanks as he slipped away back to the couches and his guest.

Swiveling back to Honey, he asked, "Then how would you like to hold my bunny, Usa-chan?" I was a little surprised when he offered us his prized possession without what seemed like a second thought.

"I'm not into bunnies." Haruhi stated slowly. _It's because Haruhi is a hater of girl things. I may not openly like them, but Usa-chan is one cute stuffed animal and how could you say no to Honey?_

"Are you saying you don't like Usa-chan?" Honey asked; his voice quavering and eyes welling with tears. Haruhi continued to stare at the pink bunny, the bunny seemed to blush and Haruhi relented from her earlier statement.

Slowly she broke in a smile, "I guess he is kinda cute," Honey looked at Haruhi, realization written on his face. The same look he gave me when I smiled at him. I heard once again the sound of a light bulb popping on. _Oh, I get it now! The light bulbs means they figured out we're girls. So that means Kyoya and Honey know that we're girls and Hikaru definitely knows I'm a girl. I'm just not sure if he knows about Haruhi or not. So that leaves Mori, Tamaki, Kaoru, and possibly Hikaru still in the dark about our true genders. Haruhi seems pretty oblivious to light bulbs and whatnot that I doubt she even knows that some of them have figured out the obvious truth. I don't think I'll tell her then. It's best she doesn't think I'm crazy or something. _I broke free from my thoughts when Honey placed Usa-chan in Haruhi's arms before skipping back to his customers and launching himself into the girls' laps giggling.

"I'll have to rain check you on that cake. Okay, Honey?" I called right after he went bounding off.

"Yeah!"

Even after Honey had left for his guests, I continued to stare at Usa-chan. Something about that bunny struck me as familiar and I couldn't quite grasp it. Haruhi noticed my staring and offered me the bunny. Smiling I took Usa-chan and brought it close to me. I hugged it tightly and breathed in its sweet unique scent. And that's when I remembered.

~Flashback~

The sun's golden rays warmed my friends and me and danced on our skin as we ran through the fields of billowing green grass. The grass's length nearly our skins and it thrashed in the evening breezes. The clouds hung high in sky and our voices were carried throughout the meadow. I chased after him, the little golden-topped boy, who had mocked me and said I was to slow to catch him. I ran as hard as my little five-year-old legs would carry me, but I was too slow. I tripped and came crashing down towards earth when someone caught me. The tallest and oldest of the three of us, black hair and dark grey eyes, had stopped my fall. He called to the little boy running far ahead of us. The boy turned and came sprinting back. I laid midst the grass, looking up at the changing sky, one boy on each side. I was happy as I could be, but something was missing. "Here," the boy I was chasing said, giving me the stuffed animal, a round puff of a pink bunny with a particular─ my own stuffed animal that I had at home; I was chasing him for it. I took it from his outstretched hands and pulled it close to me. I brought it to my side and curled up. We laid like that for what seemed like hours. The sun was fading and turning into a multitude of colors, colors of vibrant orange, yellow, and pink slowing swirling into lighter blues, purples, and black. As the light left the sky, my energy left and I soon found myself asleep next to my friends.

~End Flashback~

When I blinked my eyes open again, I realized something very important. Something that changed who I was, something that changed who I knew and how , something like that I knew Honey and Mori. Not from the club, but from my past, something that I had forgotten. It's amazing how it was the same generosity from Honey that made me remember his generosity from my long lost childhood. My nostalgia for what little of the past I remembered then was so strong I completely zoned out Haruhi and Kyoya's conversation. Startling myself out of the flashback, I rocked back on the balls of my feet and sank to ground, crisscrossing my legs as I went down. I sat there in somewhat of a trance on the floor for the remainder of the conversation.

"You'll notice that our club utilizes each man's unique characteristics to cater to the desires of our guests," Kyoya was rambling, I mean explaining, about the Host Club. "Just so you know, Tamaki is number one around here. He is the king. His request rate is 70%."

_What's the world coming to? _ I thought and I'm sure Haruhi thought that too.

"And in order for you to pay off your 8 million yen debt with us, you will act as the Ouran Host Club's dogs until you graduate," Kyoya continued to speak, choosing his wordage carefully and dragging this out longer that it needed to. _ He said dog on purpose, that rich bastard. _"I'm sorry, I meant our errand boys. You can try to run away if you want to, Haruhi, Kenji, but just so you know, my family employs a private police force of 100 officers. By the way, do you have a passport?" _I get your underlying message, you…I better not finish that thought; I get that we won't be able to stay in Japan if we try to run away without paying back the debt from the Host Club. _

"You're going to have to work hard to pay off that debt, my little nerd," Tamaki cooed as he blew into Haruhi's ear causing her to jump away from him. _Ah, Haruhi, avoiding men like the plague; just like always. _

"Please don't do that again," Haruhi gasped, breathing hard from the shock. I watched as I walked back over to Honey to give Usa-chan back. I didn't dare look him in eyes, I didn't want to betray myself and cry. I was standing in front of my ni-chans, my special and forgotten ni-chans. I wasn't sure how I would tell them who I was. I held out the bunny for him and he gingerly took Usa-chan back.

"Did you like him?" Honey asked and I nodded yes. I was about to say more, but I just couldn't. Not yet, it seemed like it was too soon, even though it had been years since I had last seen them. I opted for smile instead and turned from the two hosts. I quickly ambled over to Haruhi who was having a rather one-sided conversation with Tamaki.

"You need a makeover, or no girl's going to look twice at you." Tamaki told Haruhi, but she just snorted once and retorted with,

"Yeah, well, I'm not trying to get girls to look at me." _Me neither! But I would take one of those good looking hosts…_

"Are you kidding me?" Tamaki asked a little shocked. "That's the most important thing. You have to learn to be a gentleman and please the ladies like me."

Haruhi and I shared a look. "I just don't think it's all that important. Why should I care about appearances and labels anyway? I mean, all that really matters is what's on the inside, right?" Haruhi said before I added,

"I don't understand why you even have a host club like this."

Tamaki then began to ramble about how it's a "cruel reality," and that's it's not often that "God creates a perfect person like Moi!" and something about being beautiful inside and out. It was a bunch of random nonsense. And honestly I was zoning it all out. He had a nice speech and everything, it went something like this: "I understand how you feel since not everyone is as blessed as I am, but you must console yourself, otherwise how would you go on living? And think about this, Haruhi. Why do you think they put works of art in museums? Because beauty should be shared with the world, and those born beautiful should promote other beautiful things."

"There's a word to describe people like him," Haruhi began to speak over Tamaki's ramblings. "What is it?"

"What is what?" I asked, not sure of the word that was on the tip of her tongue.

"Oh man, I wish I could remember that word."

"Maybe, a pain in the neck?" I offered one of the more appropriate choices for words to describe Blondie Boy.

"No," Haruhi shot down, "There's something that fits him perfectly."

"…but above all else, Haruhi, you must remember…how effective a glace to the side can be." Tamaki continued.

"Huh, I got it," Haruhi finally said after racking her brain for the answer.

"Oh, did I strike a chord?" Tamaki asked hopefully.

"Obnoxious," Haruhi spoke the word on her mind as she smacked her closed fist into the open palm of her other hand.

"Right on! I wish I thought of it sooner!" I congratulated Haruhi on her descriptive pick. However, her word choice did not help Tamaki's mood as he fell into a flash depression. He sank to the corner wall, shadows casting around him even though there was still midday light outside. His weeping made Haruhi feel bad about what she said. I, on the other hand, thought he needed to hear it.

"I'm sorry, Tamaki-senpai," she apologized. _Don't apologize; it will only fuel his ego._

Out of nowhere, the twins came and rested their hands on our heads. Hikaru's hands were on mine and Kaoru's were on Haruhi. "You're a hero, alright," Hikaru said, mocking Tamaki's word choice for early.

"But he is a pain in the neck..." I muttered before Haruhi could finish her apology.

"I'm sorry, senpai," Haruhi said. "But your lesson did strike a small chord with me." _What chord and how small, sis? _

"Really? It did?" Tamaki asked perking up in spirit quite rapidly. "Let me teach you more, my friend."

"Well, he got over that quick."

"You don't say."

"Boss," Kaoru started to say but Tamaki cut him offer with an order,

"Call me king."

Ignoring Blondie Boy, Kaoru continued, "You can teach them all the basics of hosting."

"But they're not going to get very far with the ladies if they don't look the part, you know. They're not exactly host club material, but maybe if we took off Haruhi's glasses and cut Kenji's hair, it'd help," Hikaru finished Kaoru's speech for him.

"Hey, I need those!" Haruhi protested by waving her arms around when Hikaru took off her glasses. "I used to have contacts, but I lost them on the first day of school."

I didn't really say anything when Kaoru lifted my hair out of my eyes. I watched as he stared into my eyes, trying to decipher what color they really were. I knew the answer and the answer was that there was not a single shade or color that you can call them. My eyes, a kaleidoscope of blue, green, and grey with flecks of purple, seemed to change color all the time.

With a snap, the hosts were brought to attention as Tamaki ordered them into action. Hikaru and Kaoru were the first called to action as they dragged us away to somewhere to change and cut my hair. Kyoya was next; his mission was the hair stylist. Mori was last and he went off to fetch contact lenses for Haruhi. Honey piped up to help, but Tamaki just told him to go eat some cake. Honey did so, grumbling to Usa-chan the whole time.

"Here," Hikaru and Kaoru said to us while shoving two uniforms in our faces. "Change into these uniforms."

"What?" Haruhi asked.

"But why?" I questioned.

"Don't ask questions," the twins tartly replied.

"No way!" Haruhi refused.

"Change! Change! Change!" the twins chanted, pressing forward like cats ready for the pounce.

"Fine we'll change, but you two have to get out!" speaking for the both of us, Haruhi yelled once more to the boys before we threw them out of the changing room.

I heard their stumbling steps before they stopped and once more a light bulb flickered on with pop that resonated for the twins' dual light bulbs.

A few minutes later, we were both dressed in the Ouran uniform. With the new uniforms finally on, I looked into the mirror to address my change in appearance. My hair, a dark caramel brown color, was shorter than before. It was short and spikey similar to Mori's, but a little longer. The boy's uniform accented my tall 5'7" athletic frame and it felt good to wear well-fitted clothes again.

"Um, senpai?" Haruhi began to ask.

"Aren't you done changing yet?" Tamaki replied, not answering her question.

"You're sure it's really okay for us to keep these uniforms?"

"Cute!" Tamaki squealed, still ignoring Haruhi's question. "You're as pretty a girl! Adorable!" _Good to know I wasn't included in that statement. I know that I am neither cute nor adorable and if he said otherwise, who knows what I would have done. _

"Ken-chan, you also look cute!" Honey added. I tried to smile modestly and I know I just thought that if someone called me cute, I wouldn't have believed them…but this is Honey who is too cute to lie. _I hope. _

"If we had known that's how you guys really look…" Hikaru started and Kaoru finished, "We would have helped you out sooner."

Kyoya added to the mix with, "Who knows, maybe they'll draw in some customers." I stood there next to Haruhi, feeling like I was being evaluated and I didn't really like it.

"You know, that's just what I was thinking," Tamaki announced grandly. _Bullshit. You just made that up now. Kyoya was the one who came up with it, that Shadow King._ "Our errand boys are moving up the ranks. Starting today, you guys are official members of the Host Club. I will personally train you two to be first-rate hosts. If you can get 100 customers to request your services, we will completely forget about your 8 million yen debt."

"A host?" Haruhi gulped. I took a different approach when I jumped up and pumped my arm in the air with a feeling of success.

"I'll do it. I'll host," I said with a flourish and a few sparkles.

"Really, Kenji?" Tamaki inquired hopefully.

"Yes, and anyway, I've hosted before." _I probably shouldn't tell them about this, but it's not like they could find out. That is unless Kyoya goes digging._

"Where?" Kyoya asked, jumping into our conversation.

"Oh, somewhere," I mysteriously replied. _Like I would just tell you that, Glasses Guy._ "Come one, Haru. We have dinner to make."

"I'm coming and don't call me Haru." I stuck my tongue out at her and together we made our leave for the day.

* * *

Haruhi and I hosted separately the next day. Partly because I wanted to and partly because the other hosts wanted to see our individual skill sets and how we worked on our own. I watched Haruhi for a bit, just to see how she was doing. Once she got into telling the story of her mother's passing I knew she would be fine. Now it was my turn to shine.

"So Kenji, why did you join the Host Club?" a girl sitting to the right of me asked.

"I joined the Host Club because I wanted to be near you ladies. Being able to see your sparkling eyes close up is breathtaking and to hear your beautiful voices is music to my ears." Lies fell gracefully from my lips as I showered the girls with sugarcoated praise like any good host would. The girl's whose chin I was caressing was swooning in my arms and all the other girls at my table were squealing – hearts forming in their eyes and floating all around them. I had forgotten how easy it was to manipulate people's feelings and emotions. It feels a little wrong to do that sometimes, but sometimes seeing the hope and love written limpidly on the faces…It feels nice to have made their day.

"Kenji, what's your story?" another girl asked. I figured someone would ask this especially when Haruhi just told her tale. I had just the story to tell them, hoping the two hosts it was directed to would catch on.

"Well, I don't remember much of my childhood… I was in a car accident and I forgot pretty much everything," I shrugged off the statement like it wasn't a big deal. "I don't remember that much, but I do have a couple of memories I have remembered since then and there's one that I'd like to share. I was with my two best friends at one of their houses, I think. Both of them were older than I was by about two years, but the age difference never affected us. One of them was of small stature with golden hair and the other raven haired boy towered above the two of us shorter ones."

"Sounds like Honey and Mori," one of the girls laughed comparing the very boys in my story to the same counterparts in real life.

"Ha, very much like them...actually…" I drifted off, unsure of what to say.

"Actually what?" One of the girls asked.

"Actually there are Honey and Mori," I paused to gulp. "I knew them when we were younger."

"What?" I heard the collective group ask.

"I knew them, not sure how, not sure why, but I knew them." I looked at Honey and Mori. Neither of them came over, but I could see their change in behavior. Honey wore a confused expression and Mori kept glancing toward my direction. "Anyway, back to my story. One day, I was chasing Honey because he told me that I was too slow and that I would never catch him. I never did, but it didn't matter since he came running back to me when I called him. In the end, I got what I was chasing him for. I caught him by surprise when we were all laying in the grass looking up at clouds hanging above us."

"Aw, what a sweet story! Thank you for telling us," the girls murmured, still in a little shock about me knowing Honey and Mori. They just couldn't how and neither could I.

"No, prob," I said with my cheeky host smile expertly moving on from the drama.

Meanwhile the other hosts were talking about us in the background and not really paying attention to their own guests.

"Why are they so popular?" Tamaki complained to the others, not catching what I said about knowing Honey and Mori.

"They're naturals," Kyoya answered Tamaki's complaint/question.

"No training needed," the twins added too.

One of Tamaki's regulars spoke up, asking, "Have you forgotten about me?"

"Oh no, sorry princess. I'm just a little bit concerned about our newest hosts," Tamaki smoothly replied.

"Well, that's obvious, Tamaki. You sure have been keeping an eye on them," the girl whose name I later learned to be Ayanokoji bluntly stated. _She might as well should have said 'Well duh' completed with a face palm. _ I thought to myself.

"Of course, I have to. I'm training them to be gentlemen like me." With snap, he called out to us, "Haruhi, Kenji, come here for a minute."

"What's up?" Haruhi spoke first.

"I'd like you to meet someone. This is my regular guest, Princess Ayanokoji." _It's that girl from earlier. I don't even know her and already I don't like her. _

"Miss, it's a pleasure to meet you," Haruhi greeted up as simple, but sweet smile. I simply rolled my eyes, never breaking eye contact with the 'princess.'

Springing onto not just Haruhi, but onto both of us, Tamaki cooed and praised, "That was so cute! That air of bashfulness was very good! Super good, amazingly good!"

"Oh, Tamaki…" Miss Ayanokoji tried to say something, but she sounded far away to my ears that were being spun around and shaken by Bumbling Blondie Boy again.

"Oh you're so cute!"

Seeing our savior Haruhi called out, "Mori-senpai! Help us!"

In a flash, Mori was there. Pulling me away from Tamaki and lifting Haruhi out of the way, he saved us from Tamaki who was still ogling over Haruhi's smile. Once Haruhi was in the air, Mori's own light bulb lit up. He looked at Haruhi and then at me and at that moment another host knew.

'You're girls, aren't you?' His eyes seemed to ask me. I nodded. I could still understand his unspoken form of communication. He still hasn't changed from our younger days, but he did speak a little more.

'I can't believe I didn't notice.' He looked at me again, his eyes widening with a thought. 'Why didn't you say anything?' He asked something asked, but I couldn't make out what he said.

'I never said anything to make you notice. I didn't remember you until now.' I gave him an apologetic look; he knew that I was girl and he seemed remember who I was from our younger days, probably more than I did.

With a subtle eye roll, Mori looked away. Glancing back at me again, he queried with his eyes for the final time, 'You okay now?' I nodded and our conversation was over. It only took a few seconds but it seemed longer than that.

All the while, Tamaki was trying to plead with Mori. "Mori-senpai, you really didn't have to go that far. Come on little ones; let Daddy give you a big hug."

"I've already got a dad. I don't need another one," Haruhi grumbled turning away from Tamaki.

* * *

"Hey, Kenji, you know what happened to my bag?" Haruhi asked me sometime later in the afternoon.

"No… wait where's my bag?" I finally noticed that my bag was missing too. I glanced around the room until my eyes landed upon the window. Haruhi and I both looked out the window and into the pond below.

"Are you kidding me? But how did that happen?" Haruhi breathed as she noticed the calamity that had struck us both.

"I didn't think there were bullies at this school. Huh, guess they're everywhere," I murmured. We both turned and started running through the school toward the pond. I ran faster than she did and almost missed her lovely chat with bitch #1.

"Oh, it's you again," Ayanokoji lightly snarled. "I bet you love having Tamaki making you over and fawning over you. It's useless, though. You're always going to be a second class citizen." With that, she turned with a huff of air, faking importance, and stalked off.

"Don't listen to her. She's just a catty rich girl," I told Haruhi when she caught up to me. Together we brushed off Ayanokoji's cruel words and headed for the pond. "I have a feeling that girl is the one who threw our bags in the pond."

"You're probably right, but we can't be bothered with her right now, though. We've got to find our wallets or we won't have any money for food this week."

"You're right," I agreed with a sigh because I very much wanted to seek revenge.

…

"Hey, commoners! You've got some nerve, skipping out on the club like that." Glancing down at our sopping belongings, Tamaki realized we didn't skip on purpose. "Why are your bags all wet?"

"Eh, it's no big deal. I got it… I just can't find my food money," Haruhi said. Without warning, Tamaki threw off his shirt and shoes and started to search the pond with us. "Hey, you don't have to do that. You'll get wet," Haruhi protested. She never really liked anyone helping if she could do it on her own.

"A little water never hurt anyone. Besides, people are always telling me that I'm dripping with good looks," Tamaki replied softly. "Hang on a second. This what you're looking for?" He pulled out our wallet from the depths of the pond. "What's the matter? You're starring off into space. You're not falling for me, are you?" he asked the blank faced, probably daydreaming, Haruhi.

"No way," she refused snatching away the wallet.

Tamaki climbed out of water and Haruhi did the same. I tried to, but I slipped on the mucky slimy bottom and fell further into the water. The water resounded in a loud splash and I sank beneath the surface. I came up quickly spluttering and soaking wet. The two who had exited the pond gracefully laughed at my epic failure.

"I guess I'll just host wet," I joked, finally exiting the pond. I would just have to borrow another uniform from the hosts.

…

"How did your bag end up in the pond anyway?" Tamaki's voice asked.

"Well, uh… I guess I accidentally dropped it out the window at some point," Haruhi explained.

"Oh, really, that must have been terrible. I can't imagine what I'd do if my bag fell into the pond." Ayanokoji pretended to comfort Haruhi. _Why would she request Haruhi when it's obvious she doesn't like either of us?_

"And you actually made Tamaki search that dirty old pond with you. How astonishing." Her snarky comments were really starting to piss me off. Still she continued, "You do realize he's a blue blood, not a commoner, right? The only reason he's paying attention to you is because he's trying to turn you into a gentleman. Don't start thinking he cares about you just because he's doting on you."

And then it clicked for Haruhi – why she did what she did, why she said what she said– it all made sense. "Now I understand. You're jealous of me."

In one fellow swoop, Ayanokoji flipped the table causing it to come crashing down and making Haruhi fall on of top of her. "No, Haruhi, leave me alone!" She screamed, drawing the club's attention to her. "Somebody, help! He just attacked me! Someone, do something! Teach this commoner a lesson!" Her pathetic cries drew the twins and me together to create a plan. In one fluid movement, we dumped three pitchers of water on her effectively stopping her screams. "Why did you do that?" Ayanokoji asked the three of us, the pitiful look on her face accented by being wet. Coming now into the scene, Tamaki gracefully lifted Ayanokoji up from the floor and looked into her eyes. One last time, Ayanokoji pleaded, "Do something, Tamaki. Haruhi just assaulted me."

"I'm disappointed in you," Tamaki said softly as he caressed her face. "You threw their bags into the pond, didn't you?"

"You don't know that. Do you have any proof that I did?" Ayanokoji refuted instantly. _That's one sign of being guilty. Didn't she know that? Denying too quickly is one sure sign of guilt; any good lair would know that. _

"You know, you're a beautiful girl…But you aren't classy enough to be our guest, dear," Tamaki gently broke the well-deserved news to her. "If there's one thing I know, Haruhi is not that kind of man." _If she is a man at all..._

"But why, Tamaki?" Ayanokoji cried as she grasped what this meant to her. Her plan failed and she was now the laughingstock of the club. "You idiot!" She yelled as she fled from the Host Club's room.

"Hmm, now how am I going to punish you?" Tamaki mused aloud as he looked down at Haruhi who had remained on the floor throughout the entire event. "Because this is your fault after all. Ah, your quota is now one thousand!" he thundered rather majestically.

"One thousand?" Haruhi stuttered out.

"Does this affect my quota too?" I asked hoping the answer was a no. Unfortunately, it was a yes since we both shared the same quota.

"Come on," Tamaki offered his hand to Haruhi. "I've got high expectations for you, my little rookie."

Walking over, Kyoya handed Haruhi a bag with what I guessed was a uniform in it. "This is the only spare uniform we have. Sorry, but it's better that a wet one, right?" _It must be a girl's uniform since I took the last boy's one after falling in the pond. _

"Thanks a lot, you guys. I'm gonna go change."

…

"Haruhi, here you go. I brought you some towels," Tamaki said as he pulled back the curtain to see a half-undressed Haruhi. With a blush coloring his cheeks, he let the curtain fall as he took a quick step back. "Haruhi." He breathed still in denial. The final light bulb had popped on.

"Yeah?"

"So, you're a girl?" Tamaki asked before turning sharply to face me, "Are you one too, Kenji?"

"You could say that," I said while Haruhi gave her full answer,

"Biologically speaking, yeah. Listen, senpai, I don't really care whether you guys recognize me as a boy or a girl. In my opinion, it's more important for a person to be recognized for who they are rather than for what sex they are."

"Well, isn't this an interesting development," Kyoya said in his one-man group of himself who knew all along.

"Oh, yeah," the twins said from their group of all the others who had figured it along the way.

"Uh, you know, I have to say, senpai. I thought you were pretty cool earlier." Haruhi added. Tamaki's face went a solid beet-red color as he choked on his own breath and embarrassment.

"Now I could be wrong, but I think we may be witnessing the beginnings of love here," Kyoya acknowledged, breaking the fourth wall for once.

"You're not," I confirmed, already hearing wedding bells chiming in the distance.

"Being a host and getting fussed over by a bunch of girls might not be that bad. I wonder how I can pull it off," Haruhi thought aloud.

"I got it. How 'bout we just call everyone dude and bro now?" I offered as an idea.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan." Haruhi agreed with a grin.

…

"Don't start getting full of yourselves just because you're popular. If you're going to be hosts-"Tamaki started to say, but Haruhi and I cut him short.

"Wow. Another customer has requested me!" Haruhi excitedly said.

"Yeah, me too!" I high-fived her, bubbling also in with excitement, "How many hundreds of requests do we need now?"

"Don't take my customers!" Tamaki screeched; jealousy evident in his voice.

**Next time, "The Job of a High School Host!"**

24


	3. The Job Of A High School Host

**The Job of a High School Host**

When the bell chimed signaling the end of day before hosting, I suddenly realized how much time had passed. It had been more than a few days of going to the Host Club and both Haruhi and I fully integrated ourselves into the Host Club's crazy world. However I also spent that time avoiding being alone with Honey or Mori. As much as I wanted to learn more about who I was in the past, I was scared that it would change who I was at the present. I would catch Mori's eye and he would ask me silently if I wanted to talk about it, but I always looked the other way. I just was so unsure of myself. That bell ringing also meant another thing─ Haruhi and I were going to be late for the Host Club or well, we were about to be if we didn't book it there. We grabbed and stuff and were off in a matter of seconds. _Damn! We're never gonna hear the end of this if we show up late! _We ran nearly at full sprint for the Music Room #3, bounding up the stairs two at a time and cutting the corners in the hallway. Haruhi and I threw open the doors and came to a quick stumbling halt as we took in our surrounds.

_What is this? _

The room had transformed itself into tropical wonderland. There were palm trees and plants everywhere and there was even tropical animals lounging about here and there. _Am I even in the same room?_ The amount of money it must have taken to convert the room into to this beachy paradise must have been huge. Not only that, but it was as humid and hot as any tropical island. _This was the club I was forced to join. _

"You finally made it, Haruhi, Kenji. You're so late," the twins condescendingly scolded us in a mocking manner. I checked my watch and we had made it right on the dime despite our late start.

"I could be wrong, but my calendar says it's still early spring," Haruhi retorted pulling out a small calendar from nowhere. _Since when can she do that? Why can't I do that? Damn these stupid anime laws that only give me the abilities of side heroine. _

"Huddling under a kotatsu table and fearing the cold is nonsense. And besides the heating system we have is the best," Tamaki quipped as he broke away from the group's pose; his gloriously and unfairly perfect body complimented by the skin-showing cosplay he was wearing.

"No shit, Sherlock. Of course your heating system is the best. What do you have that isn't the best?" I muttered in irritation. Tamaki sometimes has no clue to the way the world really works…not like I do.

"Do you have a problem with the way we run our club, Haruhi?" Kyoya questioned, phrasing his statement in a 'non-confrontational' way. "Be careful what you say. You owe us 8 million yen, remember?" _Oh, I remember and that debt comes with tax…you rich bastard. Billing us for every cent and charging us at every corner. _

"Gentlemen don't bundle up in bulky clothing. It may be a chilly early spring out there in the real world, but here at the club we want to surprise our chilly little kittens with a warm tropical paradise. Oh yes, we've turned this place into nirvana, a balmy tropical island of everlasting summer!" Tamaki continued on, twirling a bit as usual. I stifled a large yawn that came upon me as I watched him ramble. Tamaki needs to work on his acting skills; it's all the same sparkles and dramatics with him. He needs some refreshing in that department─ lots of refreshing.

"That's funny because I feel a massive chill right now," Haruhi grumbled.

"Lighten up and ignore him. Will ya?" I ordered her in my sisterly manner as I headed over to my favorite hosting spot. It was a small couch off to the side that faced a large window. The view overlooked the old pond, which I fell into last episode, and its courtyard. It was very quiet and quaint, not yet bursting with springtime color. The cherry trees were just on the cusp of blooming into their various shades of pink and white. Spring was soon upon us, but still the bite in the air had not yet faded into wintertime obscurity.

My customers had not yet arrived so I had time to spare beforehand. I wandered about the room in my usual slinking fashion, listening in on everyone else's conversations and noting only the important information. I was very much like Kyoya in that aspect. Taking only what I needed and only what benefited me, but it's not like I could forget anything. I have a photographic memory and can remember every single day of my life… That is everything after the car accident. It's a blessing and curse─ especially a curse when I can recall any scene with Tamaki. Like this one:

"What heartlessness. Even with my lustrous skin shining like brilliant ivory, exposed by my Balinese king outfit, I'm no more than a slave before my goddess. I kneel before you and swear my loyalty," Tamaki said, hosting his many guests. _Could you gag me with a spoon now? _I rolled my eyes at his sorry excuse for hosting skills. Hosting as a guy is very different from hosting as girl. For one thing, as a girl, I didn't give out compliments willy-nilly and the cosplay that Tamaki is wearing today is almost as ridiculous as a bunny one that I had to wear once…don't ask. It was terrible. The girls all swooned at his words as if they meant something less artificial. "Oh, yes," Tamaki said in addition, "I almost forgot to mention to you, ladies. Next week, the Ouran Host Club is sponsoring a party."

"We're throwing a party?" Haruhi and I simultaneously asked, looking at each other. We asked the same question, but for different reasons. Parties were like my forte and I haven't been to one in a while; I love dancing and it's always more fun when you have a good date…if I had one.

"What kind of party is it going to be?" A girl sitting with the twins asked, "Is it going to be formal?"

"Yes, in fact we've rented the school's largest hall," Hikaru answered. He always seems to talk first or at least that's what I've noticed. But I think the twins switch roles every couple of days, just to change it up─ that is without the girls knowing, but I've come to notice their shenanigans. They aren't that sneaky and I'm guess it's because they think no one can tell, except I can.

"It's a perfect place for dancing," Kaoru said, stealing a glance to his brother. _Oh shit, they're starting it again. Unfortunately, I have to admit that they are some good actors, feigning some pretty believable emotions. _

"But I really wanted to spend some alone time with you, Kaoru," Hikaru grasped onto his brother tightly in his display of 'brotherly love.'

"Don't be upset, Hikaru. I know exactly how you feel." This resulted in a lot of squealing and swooning and I'm glad that I'm not a rabid fangirl drooling on those couches right now.

Turning away from the twins' act, I came upon Haruhi chatting with Kyoya.

"The guests seem to be even more worked up than usually," she said, taking in the extra loud fangirling. Huh, I guess I wasn't the only one who noted the change in the guests' behavior.

"Yeah, they seem louder today," I added as I joined their conversation and came up to stand beside Haruhi.

"Showing some skin proves popular with the ladies," Kyoya explained. He pushed up his glasses up to the top of his nose in his suave 'I know more than you think' fashion.

"So are you the one who came up with this tropical paradise idea?" Haruhi asked further, still not reading Kyoya's words between the lines.

"I have no decision-making authority. All the club's policies have been laid out by the club's king, Tamaki. But I guess there's no harm in admitting to casually slipping a Bali photo book onto his desk," Kyoya clarified with her. _I knew he was the real brains of this operation! This host club probably wouldn't even last a month without Kyoya backing it up with all the ideas and financial stuff and whatnot. He must put up with a lot of shit. That's probably why he seems so heartless─ he tries to ignore all the stupid in the room like I do, except he's been doing it longer. _

I stepped away from Kyoya and Haruhi's conversation since my own guests should have been arriving shortly. I just happened to draw closer to Honey next. He was hosting his own 'lady friends.'

"Ta-da!" Honey exclaimed as he placed a lei of large pink flowers around his neck.

"Oh, you're so cute, Honey!" the girls complimented the short senior. _Honey's a good actor too. _

"Hi ladies, I love these Balinese flowers. We had them flown in," Honey said with his cheeky six-year-old signature grin. Honey hasn't changed a bit since our younger days _or so I think_. Turning to Mori, who had just appeared out of nowhere, Honey jumped on him and climbed him like a tree. "Takashi, there. We match." He gave Mori his own lei of Balinese flowers. A small smile grew on Mori's face as he looked over at his small-sized cousin.

"Ah, you're covered in camellias!" All the girls cried in loving awe.

Finally I had reached my own guests who were waiting rather patiently by the window.

"Hello, ladies," I greeted as I sat down next to them.

"Um, Kenji? Aren't you going to wear a tropical outfit like the other boys?" A girl whose name is Sakura asked.

"Yeah, I'd like to see that," another girl named Yuki added.

"Oh well, you see the ones who were planning this cosplay forgot about me," I answered; my voice dripping with a pathetic quality. _They didn't forget about Haruhi though with the ridiculous Balinese queen outfit. _

"I'd never forget about you, Kenji!" Sakura nearly screeched. Looks like someone's in love… _What a shame that I'm really a girl who's still holding out for her own hero._

"And I would never forget about you, my darling." _Gah, I'm turning into one of them. I'm turning into a sappy host! Somebody, help me!_

"I hope we're lucky enough that the cherry blossoms are in full bloom on the night of the party," Sakura wished aloud.

"Yeah, the two of us dancing among the cherry blossoms…it'll be so dreamy!"

"I can't wait 'til I can gracefully waltz with you on the dance floor."

My appointment with Sakura and Yuki ended after another thirty or so minutes of small talk and I looked over to find Haruhi had another appointment with the one and only Kanako Kasugazaki. I figured that she would pick one of us shortly. She had shown signs of the host-hopping disease and it was only a matter of time before her favorite switched.

…

"I can't take this anymore!" Tamaki grumbled over at a lone table that was off to the side of the club room while slurping up impressive amounts of ramen.

"Hey boss, why don't you stop eating that commoner's ramen and come over here to help us with the party planning?" Hikaru asked, turning his head to look at our depressive leader.

"Does it really bother you that Princess Kasuga has taken a liking to Haruhi?" Kaoru added to his brother's statement.

"He shouldn't be surprised. She's had the illness for a while now, hasn't she?" Kyoya said too, not even looking up from his computer.

"What illness?" Haruhi asked. _Leave it to her to be oblivious…_

"She's got the host hopping disease," Hikaru started to explain while Kaoru finished, "AKA never-the-same-boy-twice disease." _So I had called it right early. I have the makings to be a good detective, don't I?_

"Usually, our customers choose a favorite host and see them regularly," Kyoya elucidated a bit more for her.

"However, Princess Kanako tends to change her favorites on a regular basis, right?" I spoke up now since I knew this part.

"That's right. 'Cause before she choose you, she was with Tama-chan," Honey chirped up from his spot by Kyoya.

"Oh, so he's upset because I took her from him?" Haruhi bluntly said. I chuckled a little bit because Tamaki wasn't as simple as that. Our boss had gotten himself a crush on one of the Host Club's hidden princesses and it's only episode two.

"Shut up!" Tamaki finally yelled at us. I guess he downed another bowl of ramen already. "I couldn't care less!" _There's the jealously talking._ "I'm running out of patience!" Tamaki was really starting to have a breakdown. "Haruhi, it's time you started dressing like a girl! I don't understand how you could be so popular with the ladies when you yourself are a lady! No one in the entire school knows the truth except for those of us here."

"Glad to know I wasn't included in that statement," I sighed. I already knew that as far as I was concerned, I was just a side-character to Haruhi's tale. That's the plight of a side-heroine.

"Yeah, she opted out of taking gym classes," Hikaru went on to say. I'm not sure if he heard me complain or if he just ignored what I had said.

"And the attendance numbers are all mixed together so no one can tell," Kaoru supplemented to the explanation.

Rushing over and grabbing a chest labeled 'King's Treasures' from the backroom, Tamaki dug about in it for something for a bit while ordering Haruhi around. "That's enough, Haruhi. Now you listen to Daddy. Daddy wants you to go back to the way you were." Tamaki suddenly pulled out a big embezzled picture of Haruhi as a girl and waved it in her face.

"Don't go blowing up my photos without asking me first!" Haruhi yelled at the hopelessly-in-love blonde.

"The more I look at this picture, the more amazed I am. How could this possibly become that?" Hikaru inquired, referring the 'this' as Haruhi's girly appearance and 'that' to Haruhi's grunge look.

"The day before school started, one of kids in my neighborhood got some gum in my hair. It's a real pain to get gum out of long hair. So I decided to cut it all off," Haruhi explained simply.

"So what about you?" Kaoru asked, turning to me.

"Oh, me? Well, I chopped off all my hair in defiance to my old worthless guardian before I ran away from him," I stated. I shifted around for my wallet in my pockets before I grabbed a hold of it. I pulled it out and flipped to the picture of me with my long curly hair still intact. It was a little embarrassing as a photo; I had whip cream on my nose after one of my co-hostesses had smashed my ice cream into my face. But I was smiling and that's all that mattered.

"Oh, wow." The twins said, their jaws dropping.

"You said 'guardian.' What do you mean by that?" Kyoya questioned me as he caught my slip up.

"Nothing," I whispered; my voice dropping in volume. _Not yet, I can hold off a little longer. I can't tell them how much I was really broken. I had glued myself together again in an impossible way and I don't need any cracks in my sarcastic shell. The little pieces of good barely stand like stones on the shore against the raging storm of bad that constantly beats against the good. _Raising my voice again and shaking off the feeling of weakness, I added, "I don't care if I look like a dude, you know. Anyway, it's better this way."

"Wah! Girls should never refer to themselves as a dude. Momma! Kenji's using those dirty boy words again!" Tamaki cried to Kyoya, distress evident in his vibrant purple eyes as he shook from side-to-side.

"I'm sorry, but who is 'momma?'" Kaoru asked confused at Tamaki's wordage.

"Based on club position, I assume it's me," Kyoya replied coolly, not the least bit phased by Tamaki's actions.

"Look, I don't see what you're crying about," Haruhi spoke up. "Working as hosts, we can pay back more of the debt. It'll never happen if we're just errand boys."

"Hate to change the subject, but do you guys have formal dancing experience? You'll need it at the party," Hikaru inquired a bit of the blue.

"Uh… no," Haruhi stuttered, a nervous smile growing on her face.

"I do," I quipped already knowing where this was going. I had lots of training in dancing from my past work as a hostess.

"But the party doesn't have anything to with our quota, right? I'm not interested in going to events, so if I could be excused…" Haruhi wagged her arms back and forth, trying to worm her way out of the dance.

"Definitely not," Tamaki shot her down like a clay pigeon. "A refined gentleman must know how to dance. If you want to live the life of a host that badly, you're going to have to show us how far you're willing to go, Haruhi." _Once again, I'm not included. That's a bit rude, Blondie Boy. I'd like to get acknowledged once in a while. _ "I order you to master dancing the waltz in one week and you will demonstrate it for us at the party. Or I'll tell the entire school that you're a girl and knock you back down to an errand boy." Haruhi gulped again under Tamaki's scrutinizing finger.

…

"Quick, quick, slow. Quick, quick, slow," Kanako coached Haruhi from the background. I had recently been excused from the lessons because I already knew how to dance. I proved all my doubters wrong I performed the waltz perfectly, along with the tango and I even threw in a bit of swing dancing for the heck of it. I had quite a lot fun dancing with Kyoya who had grudgingly stepped in as my partner. He led the dance at the beginning, but at one point we had switched roles. It was funny when Kyoya was dancing in the girl's part since he was a little too tall. Though I did have to dance in both positions, I must say leading is a bit more fun; you get to choose where the dance goes. I spent my time after that just gazing out the window watching the clouds roll by. I was joined on the window seat by a gloomy Tamaki who had wanted to be the one to dance with Haruhi.

"Why so gloomy, boss?" the twins asked, making fun of Blondie Boy's plight.

"I bet it's because he wanted to be the one Haruhi practices with," Hikaru said to his brother.

"I think you may be right, but he's way too tall to stand in as a woman," Kaoru replied. _Oh, they are enjoying this way too much, _I thought as I made my way over to them. Sneaking up behind them, I pulled out two rather large books and brought them as hard as I could down onto the twins' heads with a resounding thunk.

"Kenji-chop!" I screeched maliciously as I whacked the twins on the tops of their heads. "Mwahahahahahaha! Be nice to your elders, boys!"

"Owww," Kaoru said as he dropped to the ground clutching his head in pain. I bet a bruise is already forming. _Sucks to suck, you evil doppelgängers. _

"But… aren't we…your elders?" Hikaru managed to ask despite his probably pulsing-in-pain head. "Shouldn't you respect us?" He started to turn toward me, the pain vanishing as an evil idea crept into his head and a malevolent smile grew on his face.

"Oh, shit," I breathed as I turned to flee from the recovering boy.

"YOU NOT GETTING AWAY!" Hikaru yelled loudly as he began to chase me. Luckily, Kaoru was still downed my blow. I ran until Hikaru trapped me behind a couch. Thinking he succeeded in capturing me, Hikaru let his guard down and I took the chance to launch myself into flip over the couch. Looking left and right, I saw no escape aside from the window. Being as crazy as I am, I choose the window. Getting to the window, I threw it open and turned to face Hikaru. I grinned like a madman and saluted a goodbye as I let myself fall back into nothingness.

"Kenji!" Hikaru yelled, rushing to the window to see where I went. I fell for a brief period of time before turning my body in to a better position for impact and bracing myself for the approaching landing. I rolled out my momentum and landed completely unharmed. My parkour training was nothing to scoff at. I had practiced for months before I could complete a jump like that and it was worth it every moment just to see Hikaru's shocked face. I stood up and shook off the dust from my pants. I even took a mocking bow for Hikaru. "You're crazy, you know that," He called out to me from the upper story window.

"Does that mean you were worried about me?" I responded, poking fun as his reddened checks and concerned expression.

"Who wouldn't be concerned if their friend jumped out a window?" Hikaru retorted as he shook off any signs of genuine concern. _Aw, the actor came back. It's much more fun when he's not putting up a façade. _

"Touché, my friend." I laughed loudly and with a feeling of being careful, I started walking toward the building's wall.

"What are you doing?" Hikaru called down again.

"What goes down must come up," I responded mysteriously as I began to scale the building's face. Going up is never as fun as going down and it's a little more work too.

Hikaru shook his head, "I don't think it works that way."

"What works what way?" Kaoru asked, finally recovered from his own Kenji-chop.

"What goes down must come up," Hikaru repeated my confusing words.

"Um, isn't it what goes up must come down?" Kaoru asked hesitantly, not understanding since he missed most of the scene due to the pain.

"Normally," I said as I pulled myself over the balcony edge. "But I'm not normally."

"Wait, what? Where did you come from?" Kaoru stuttered, confused as to where I came from. I gave him a once-over glance and shrugged. "Hikaru, what did I miss?"

…

I strolled back into the Host Club's room to find that Haruhi and Kanako had finished the dance lessons and Tamaki was still in his depressive funk.

"….I really appreciate it," Haruhi was saying to Kanako while grinning at her.

"Oh, no problem. I heard that you're not seeing any customers today so that you can practice dancing. I'm glad I got to spend this time alone with you," Kanako paused as she accepted a tea cup from Haruhi. "Oh, my! This is a new tea set, isn't it?" She gazed into the cup lovingly and then added softly, "It's Ginori." _Who know tea cup names? They're all the same china to me. _

"Ginori?" Haruhi asked puzzled.

"You have a keen eye, mademoiselle. In fact, we just received them yesterday. We decided that it was about time for the club to upgrade its tea sets," Kyoya spoke up as he walked over to the table. I knew what Kyoya was referring to. I had broken a couple of their tea sets a couple of days ago. It was purely an accident when I was picking up some of the dishes after club hours when Honey raced past my legs. In doing so, he caused me to stumble and trip. And as I went down, the dishes went up into the air and then came crashing down. It was one shattered mess but because it wasn't entirely my fault, I only got half the debt from the china's breakage. Honey got the other half, but he was able to pay it off immediately while as I got another 60,000 yen added to my debt. That was double the price of the school's uniform and I'm still paying that debt off too.

"I see. What a pretty color. Lovely," Kanako said absentmindedly as she stroked the cup with what I would call love, but why?

"You must really be into tableware, huh?" Haruhi obliviously asked. _When will she ever notice all the subtle signs that people give off?_

"Not really, I mean no, of course, I'm not," Kanako spluttered, trying to switch the topic immediately. "Whatever would give you that idea?"

"Hello?" a boy called into the room. I noticed Kanako stiffen up at his voice; she must know him. "I'm here with the new tea cups you ordered."

"Ah, thank you very much," Kyoya said, strolling over to greet the boy later identified as Suzushima. "Every item that you've chosen for us has been extremely popular with the ladies. I'm quite impressed."

"Well, that's good to hear," Suzushima responded humbly.

Coming over to the boys, Haruhi asked, "So, do you sell tea sets?"

"No, I'm just a regular student," Suzushima laughed lightly. "Can't you tell by the uniform?"

Breaking into her own small laughter, Kanako started to speak. "Oh, Haruhi, you're so funny. I can't blame you for not knowing. After all, he doesn't really look like an heir to a first-class company." I noticed that this time it was Suzushima who stiffened up when he realized that his other half was in room. He may not have known it then, but Kanako is his other half and they were meant for each other. I knew it the moment I saw the way they looked at each other and I was sure that I wasn't the only one who saw it.

"First-class company?" Haruhi asked, oblivious as ever.

"His family's business, the Suzushima trading company, deals primarily in the importing of tableware. They currently have the top market share in the country," Kyoya told Haruhi.

"Wow!" Haruhi exclaimed. _A yawn was good enough for me. _

"So whenever something exceptional comes in, we've asked him to send it our way. He has a great eye for fine china. Don't you, Suzushima," Kyoya went on saying.

"You think?" Suzushima shrugged off the compliment well. "I've still got a lot to learn, but thank you."

Still Kyoya pressed on. _Does he know when to stop or is this on purpose?_ "Aren't you leaving next month to study abroad in England?"

"Yes, I am. Well, I better go now." And with that, Suzushima was off, but not without one more glance to Kanako whose back was still turned away from him.

Tamaki, who suddenly decided to rejoin the land of the happy, came over to Kanako's table and asked how she was enjoying the club and that's when Haruhi noted the discovery of the hour.

"I get the feeling that you and that guy are kinda close."

"Don't be ridiculous," Kanako feverously responded, standing up quickly from her chair. "We hardly know each other. What make you say that, Haruhi? Now, if you'll please excuse me. Take care." Kanako rushed off very suddenly; her movements sloppy and uncoordinated. _She's in pain and she's scared of her feelings for him. She loves him very much, but he's too lighthearted to reciprocate it openly. I kinda feel the same way; I'm afraid of my past feeling for Mori. I'm not really sure what they were, but I don't want them to change the way the Host Club is now. I'm afraid that things will change in the Host Club. _I stared off in the distance, my eyes glazing for a sec while I stood deep in thought.

"Haru-chan! Guess what?" Honey quipped bounding over from his table. "They do know each other. Suzushima is Kasuga-chan's fiancé."

Rotating on the balls of feet, Tamaki turned to Kyoya, our resident know-it-all, to ask him how long he knew about this. _I figure he knew since the very beginning._

"About the two of them being engaged? Well, as you know, I conduct general researches on all of our customers." Kyoya whipped out his black notebook and took a peak into its pages. "The two of them were childhood friends. It seems their engagement was arranged by their parents. I didn't think the information would benefit us so I disregarded it."

"Wait, what? You conduct background researches on everyone?" I cried out. _What did he know about me_? Somehow in some way my words were spoken over by Tamaki, even though he only said two words─ "I see."

"Toru Suzushima. Outstanding grades, fair social status. He's ordinary looking, but he's reliable.  
If I had to fault him for anything..." Kyoya read aloud.

"He doesn't have much presence," Hikaru chimed in.

"And he's faint-hearted," Kaoru added.

"So, in other words, he's boring," Kyoya summed up bluntly.

I chuckled to myself; I never knew they were so merciless toward other guys. I found it quite amusing to watch them rate Suzushima.

"Suzushima is a good boy, right?" Honey asked Mori.

"Yeah."

"Alright, everyone," Tamaki clapped his hands to gain our attention. "We'll have to work on our strategy."

"Which one?" We the other hosts asked.

"Men, it is our responsibility as members of the elite Ouran Host Club to make every girl happy."

…

It was the night of the party and we were thoroughly prepared for the operation. Each man (or woman) had their own parts to this scheme to try to get Kanako and Suzushima back together. I wasn't sure how this would go. It may have been our job to make every girl happy, but we couldn't just change someone else's heart, now could we? Fortunately the night started off without a hitch. Tamaki made the introduction to the Spring Cherry Blossom Dance, or that's what I decided to call this shin-ding.

"It is so good to see you here tonight, my little lambs. The Ouran Host Club would like to bid you welcome," Tamaki announced with a spotlight and everything.

"As always, ladies, the Host Club members are here for your entertainment. So we invite you to dance to your heart's content. Based on her dancing skills, one lucky young lady will be chosen as tonight's queen. The queen's reward will be a passionate kiss on the cheek from our king," Kyoya said, pitching his sales plan to the ladies. They all began squeal with their hearts already bursting with anticipation.

"Good luck to you, my darlings," Tamaki finished with a flourish. This set some of the girls over the edge as they cheered and a few fainted from the excitement. _What is wrong with these ladies? Is there something in the water? Is it contagious? Because I don't want to catch their stupidity…_

"Haruhi, Kenji, show some enthusiasm," the twins told us as they came over to us after bowing to the ladies in the welcome ceremony.

"Well, excuse me, you guys, the party just began," I sassed, straightening from my own bow. I rolled my eyes at them and stuck out my tongue. The twins stuck out their own tongues in response. _Ugh, those devils, making my life a little more sarcastic._

"Sorry, I'm not used to this sort of thing. I've only ever gone to the festivals held in my neighbor park," Haruhi grumbled as her answer.

"I don't know if you can really consider that a party or not. Well, since you're already here, you might as well get yourself something to eat. We've got quite a spread," Kyoya said to us, gesturing to the enormous amount of food that was laid out for the party.

"A spread?" Haruhi asked, tilting her head. "With fancy tuna?" I heard Kyoya's pen snap and Tamaki did one hell of an amazing flip over the landing down to where we were standing. I was quite impressed.

"Fan-" Honey started to say.

"-cy…" Hikaru and Kaoru added.

"…tuna?" Tamaki finished the shared question. _Oh shit, here we go again. _"Get some fancy tuna here right now."

Dialing his phone immediately, Kyoya ordered the fancy sushi while as the twins and Honey comforted Haruhi like she was socially deprived or something, saying and I quote, "You poor little dear."

"Damn these filthy rich jerks…" I barely heard Haruhi muttered to herself before being pulled away from the group by some guests.

"Dance with me, Kenji," one said.

"No, with me," another pleaded.

"I will dance with you each one at a time. How about you, my darling Sakura? Would you care to join me in this first dance?" I coolly responded to the overbearing fangirls.

"I-I w-would love t-too," Sakura stuttered out as an answer. I grabbed her hand and pulled her out onto the dance floor. Taking each graceful step, I began to dance. I took each step with precision and smiled at every opportune moment. This was my job of the plan. I was the crowd control. I would stay on the dance floor; I would monitor the girls and keep them happy should a problem arise. _This is going to be one long night._

The hall was very eloquently designed and decorated and everything seemed to be going according to the plan. Customers loitered near food tables (the fancy tuna was subsequently added to menu) and chatted near the windows. Girls danced here and there with favorite hosts and other boys in time with the upbeat classical music, but one girl─ the key piece to the plan─ was still missing. Haruhi, leaning against a pillar off on the side of the dance floor, was luckily sought out by the aforementioned girl. That saved us the trouble in hunting her down among the hordes of people that were in the hall.

"Hello, Haruhi. I've been looking all over for you," Kanako said as she walked up to Haruhi. I dare say she was really pretty looking in that blue dress. Ah, this is going to be so perfect~! I know I should ship people in secret, but I just have to say Kanako and Suzushima is just one cute couple! "Do you think maybe I could have the next dance?"

"Yeah," Haruhi answered looking over to Kanako. "Of course you can," she added with a smile and took Kanako out on to the dance. They took a few paces out on to the floor when word of Kanako's arrival spread through the hosts and the plan was put swiftly in to action.

"Kasuga-chan is here," Honey whispered over to Tamaki.

Not even breaking eye contact with girl he was dancing with, Tamaki sent out the order. "Alright, men, then let us commence with our operation." Excusing themselves from their guests, Honey and Mori gave a stern roger that and swept away with Haruhi who gave a small cry as she was taken away with such gusto.

"What? Kidnapped?" Kanako wondered aloud, confused as to what just happened to her dance partner. I noticed Tamaki walk toward Kanako and I knew my mission was complete or at least that part of the mission was complete. I headed over to our 'headquarters' for the mission where Haruhi would change and become the fake 'love interest' for Suzushima. It was a bunch of bullshit and I wasn't sure how it would all work out. But before I left the hall to check on Haruhi, I snagged a plate of food from the spread and I made sure that I grabbed some fancy tuna. I wanted to eat it before it was all gone; I figured Haruhi wouldn't get a chance to get some so I would I some for her.

I came into the room just as Kyoya was saying, "A little accident towards the end of the night would be quite thrilling. And remember, Haruhi, there are only 20 minutes remaining before the party reaches its climax. Suzushima is already waiting for you the classroom across the hall." I heard the rest of the words that Kyoya had said, but my mind was stuck on the word accident. _What does he mean by that? What is he planning? _I thought. While I was still pondering on the word, the conversation amongst the hosts went on.

"You have to ask him how he feels, okay?" Honey coached Haruhi, flowers floating around the boy-Lolita. His cuteness seemed to be increased from its usual amount. _Is that even possible?_

"We know this is the boss's strategy, but it's kind of unsettling," Hikaru and Kaoru said whilst applying makeup to Haruhi. If they were trying to make her more girly, it was working. With the makeup and the wing and the dress, Haruhi looked really really girly.

"Gentleman! Here you all are," Tamaki said as he barged into the room. "What are you doing? The guests are waiting for…" He stopped as he saw Haruhi. She stood up to face him and you could just see the adoration on Tamaki's face. _Aw, young love…_

"So, what do you think?" the twins proudly showed off their makeup skills.

"Wow, you look so cute!" Honey complimented, but Haruhi brushed it off with her complaining,

"My face feels heavy, and it's hard to walk in these shoes." Haruhi hobbled stiffly out the door like it was hard to walk in those shoes. She's just not used to it despite her father and my trying to get her to be more girly.

"Good luck, Haruhi," the twins chirped. _Why is everything so amusing to them?_

Tamaki, on his knees and on the verge of tears, quietly (for once) admired Haruhi, "I can't believe she's so pretty."

Well, it seemed like that part was over and so I headed back to the party with Honey, Mori and the twins. Tamaki went off to get Kanako and Kyoya had business or something to attend to. It was crazy back out on the dance floor. The twirling and whirling never seemed to stop and the music never seemed to end. But I was happy. In the heat of the moment, I felt that Kanako and Suzushima weren't the only ones that were changing that night. I ran for so long from the terrors that I thought were chasing me, thinking that they would one day pull me back into their clutches and now that I decided to change, I had already begun my transformation.

Being able to choose to change was easier than I thought. The terrors and fears I held onto weren't gone; the shriek of the car brakes right before the car hit me would still ring in my ears. But now, I had the Host Club to fall back on. I danced and I ate and I had no care in the world under the stars that night. I only wished that I had someone to dance with like Kanako had Suzushima, but love only comes with time and I hadn't had the time yet. It was our responsibility as members of the elite Ouran Host Club to make every girl happy and doesn't that include me? I was longing too, but I shook the feelings off. I would have my moment, but tonight belonged to Kanako and Suzushima. It was their night to remember.

I decided then that it was time for me to talk to Honey and Mori about my past. I had to change, I had to pick up the pieces somewhere and they seemed like a good place to start. With the Host Club's help, maybe I could figure out a way to figure out who I was before everything went downhill.

As Suzushima chased Kanako outside in the courtyard, everyone at the party was ushered outside for the final dance of the night. Four spotlights lit up on the couple below and they looked at each other with shock, not sure of what was going on. "Ladies and gentlemen," Tamaki began, sweeping his arm toward Kanako and Suzushima, "It is now time for us to begin the final dance of this evening's festivities. The last waltz of the night has been chosen by the Host Club for this couple."

The two stared at each other before Suzushima awkwardly gulped and asked, "Princess Kasuga, may I have this dance?"

With a moment's hesitation, Kanako took his hand and said yes. The music began to play and cherry blossom began to fall. It was quite beautiful with all the petals swirling through the air. The wind gently carried the flowers in its early spring breezes and the moon hung gallantly in the sky. Their slow dance was not a silent one as Suzushima spoke the words that he always knew, but never said,

"I love you, Kanako. I've always loved you and I want you to be my wife."

Kanako smiled up at him, love written limpidly on her face. Never again would she doubt his love and never again would she host-hop. Our plan worked out perfectly and the results were better than I expected.

"May this awkward couple be forever blessed!" Tamaki said throwing his arms out causing Haruhi to duck with a grumble.

"And now we'll announce the queen of the ball," Hikaru spoke into a microphone he grabbed from where?

"Congratulations, Princess Kanako Kasugazaki," Kaoru finished. Clapping erupted amongst the girls, though there were more than a few sighs uttered. And then I noticed what those two devils were holding─ two banana peels with two blinking arrows pointing right at them. _Oh, shit. Shit. SHIT! Not the arrows again. Anything, but arrows… What's going to happen now?_

"And for her reward, a kiss on the check from the king…" Hikaru spoke once again.

"You ready?" Tamaki asked all seductive and prince-like. _Didn't you just try to get her back with her fiancé? What's with this kiss crap?_

But before Tamaki could even move, Kaoru cut in with, "Haruhi Fujioka will stand in for Tamaki." As Tamaki and Haruhi spluttered against the change, the twins shrugged and replied in sync,

"Kyoya did say that a little accident towards the end of the night might make it even more thrilling for everyone." And then the banana peels were gone, fallen from their hands, and I knew something was up. _They really planned for an accident, but what kind and for whom? I mean those arrows kinda give away the surprise. _

Down below, Suzushima encouraged Kanako to accept the kiss, saying that it was only a kiss on the cheek and it would commemorate her graduation from host-hopping. Kanako relented and nodded, accepting the kiss from Haruhi.

Haruhi, on the other hand, needed a little more encouragement.

"There's no way I can kiss her," she refused at first, but Kyoya managed to convince her to do it saying that he would cut our debt by a third. I liked the deal so I gave her my puppy-dog eyes to sweeten her up a little more. The deal was even better because I didn't have to do anything to get it.

"Well, it is just a peck on the cheek," Haruhi finally agreed.

As she was walking down and bracing herself to kiss Kanako's cheek, Honey asked, "Hey, you don't think this is Haru-chan's first kiss, do you?"

"You're right, Honey. This is Haruhi's first kiss. Outside of the family, that is," I told Honey, hoping that I would get a reaction from Tamaki. But what actually happened was even better than I originally thought.

"What?" Tamaki gasped loudly. Lounging toward her in one final movement, Tamaki slipped one of the twins' perfectly and evilly placed banana peels, stilling yelling out, "Wait, Haruhi!" As his hand crashed into her back, Haruhi's lips hit Kanako's lips instead of her cheek. The kiss lasted only seconds and both parties broke away quickly, sheepishly holding their own lips in mute shock. Tamaki was still face down on the ground, that idiot. He only made it worse, but I have to admit it was a funny scene and the banana peel slip was one of the most classical 'accidents.' The girls erupted into squeals and cheers and Haruhi just smiled off the kiss. I never thought that Haruhi would give her first kiss to another girl, but it was such an amazing night. So I guess that it's just as well. Everything worked out fine─ the plan worked out perfectly; our debt got cut by one-third; Haruhi got her first kiss; and Tamaki's still in shock!

**Next time, Beware the Physical Exam**

17


	4. Beware the Physical Exam

**Beware the Physical Exam**

A day had passed since the party and then two more days and then a couple more. Time was flying by and I had gotten nowhere closer to talking to Honey and Mori. Time moved so quickly that Tamaki, unfortunately, had planned something 'special' to do while hosting. It was this weird flower viewing reception in the garden and I thought that it would be a good day to talk to Honey or Mori since I was already planning on coming early. I was rather optimistic about the whole thing.

The day had arrived faster than I thought it would and I made sure that I came extra early to the club room. Since my belatedness on the other cosplay day, Kyoya and the other hosts wouldn't let me play it down and I was tired of all the constant nagging about being late, even though Haruhi was way worse than me. It was easy convincing the teacher to let me leave class early. I already finished the math test we had to take and despite the fact that I already memorized all the problems on the test, I double checked all the problems twice. With a simple excuse, a bit of reasoning, a slight misuse of my 'masculine' charm, I managed to get my female teacher to let me go a few minutes early. And by a few minutes, I mean forty, but who's counting?

I headed over to the Music Room #3 to wait out the time. The room was completely empty, void of its usual noise and obnoxious hosts. I walked to the center of the room and I just stood there awkwardly unsure of what to do. I hadn't thought out my plan this far and I had so much time to kill I didn't know what to do with it. I opted to get a bit of fresh air, but before I could do that, I needed to get something out of my back pack. I pulled out the very first piece to the broken puzzle of my life. It was my stuffed animal that I was given years before; I never let it go and after holding Honey's Usa-chan a while back, I realized that mine and his was from the same cloth and design. My own bunny was smaller, a little rounder, and in my opinion cuter, and her was named Usii-chan. Around her neck hung a ring that was now too small for my finger. I never put the ring on after the accident. The ring was dented and the stone it once bore in center was smashed and sharp at a point, but no matter how much it was damaged, a part of me couldn't bear to throw it away for some reason. I toted it around for the last seven years and I never let anyone see it besides Haruhi. And here I was placing Usii-chan right in the middle of the room for all eyes to see. I only hoped that the two seniors would be the first to arrive to the club.

I walked over the balcony and opened the window. As I pulled my body over the railing, I sat down letting my legs dangle over the side into the air. I waited there, deep in thought, as the wind gently thrashed my hair to the side. I came into the room that day ready to put together a puzzle that broke apart in that car accident. I had enough of the what-ifs and who-am-I shit. Seven years later and I finally had my first clue, the first piece to my old life and it came in the form of Honey and Mori. I was prepared to start putting together my life, but I wasn't sure as to how. How would I do something that I avoided for seven years? How would I start a conversation with Hunny and Mori? Should I say "Hey, I'm your long lost friend and I would love it if you told me everything you know about me" or should I go "I know that you know about me. Would you care to enlighten me about me?" Neither of my ideas seemed like one that would work out well and I was stumped for new ideas. I was so deep into my reverie, tapping a rapid tattoo onto my leg, that I didn't hear the doors open to the club room.

It wasn't until the voices drifted out to where I was sitting that I noticed that I was not alone anymore. I was about to jump up and run in there and grab Usii-chan when I heard what they were saying.

"Takashi, is that…Usii-chan?" I heard Honey ask, his childish voice dropping to a soft whisper.

"Yes" came Mori's slow deep-voiced reply.

"Does that mean…that she…isn't gone?" Honey slowly asked, peering about the room to see if I was there. "Does that mean that Kenji is really…?"

"Yes."

I pulled myself, then, over the railing and walked back into the room towards them; my heart pounding in my chest and my footsteps echoing in my ears. I came in as silently as I could. My eyes set upon the two hosts. _Here goes nothing…_

"Kenji, is this yours?" Honey inquired in the same soft voice as before while he held up my Usii-chan.

"Yes," my voice cracked as I tried to withhold the emotions that were building inside me.

"Where did you get it?" Mori spoke up, shocking me. Mori never talked as much anymore.

I shifted my eyes up to him, "I don't know. I have always had her."

"I gave it to you," Mori continued to speak, shocking me even further with this new fact. "When I first met you. You were crying so I gave it to you."

"You did? I wish I could remember that…"

"You don't know?" Honey asked, shooting me a questioning glare.

"I was in a car accident seven years ago. I lost my memory and eventually after a few bumps in the road ended up here with Haruhi. I thought you knew from episode 1."

"No, we didn't know. You said an accident?" Honey and Mori shared a quizzical looked and motioned me to sit down on one of the couches nearby. "You don't remember anything?" I shook my head no. "Well, then, let's start at the beginning, shouldn't we, Takashi?"

"Yeah."

"Well, Kenji, we meet you when we were five and that would make you three. You had just flown here from Canada where your parents live." As Honey's words meet my ears, the little memories that were trapped in the corners of my mind started shifting forward and popping on─ the long flight filled with endless tears, crying for my mom. My mom…_who was she?_ Meeting Honey and Mori at Mori's house, receiving Usii-chan, the little pieces starting forming pictures and I nodded at Honey to continue. "You met us at Takashi's house and Takashi offered you Usii-chan. You stopped crying and took it from him. From that day on, we were inseparable as a trio. We played together all day every day." Honey paused for a moment to look at Mori for a second.

Mori picked up the story from there. "You lived at my house. For three years."

"I did? I did…Really? Why? Why did I live with you? Who are my parents? What's my real name?" I asked, my questions coming out in a torrent of curiosity.

"Hey guys! You're here early," Tamaki called into the room just as Honey was about to speak again. _Are you kidding me!? I'm so close to knowing my name, to know something, Blondie Boy, and here you have to ruin my chance._

"Oh, well, I just wanted to come early," I replied standing up and wiping away tears that were welling in the corners of my eyes. "I got out of class early a few minutes early."

"Well then, go get dressed!" Tamaki ordered me off to the prep rooms.

"Yes, sir!" I fake saluted him and turned to head to the changing rooms. "We'll finish talking later. Okay?"

"Yeah!"

I walked away from my ni-chans who I barely began to remember without another word, but I still was able to catch Honey's last comment.

"When will you tell her about it?"

I didn't hear anymore since I was too busy changing into my cosplay for the day and I wasn't sure if I heard anything at all. I was struggling to put on this traditional Japanese grab that was rather difficult to get into and I managed to get myself trapped in it. And then Haruhi came in to help me out and the next thing I knew I was in the garden with the other hosts.

Tamaki, Kyoya, and the twins were in black and white butler outfits while as Mori, Hunny, Haruhi, and I were in these colorful Japanese outfits. The whole scene was accented by all the blooming cherry trees.

"So, in which cup would my princess like her tea? The Foley? The Worcester? Or perhaps the Susie Cooper Gardenia?" Tamaki was asking a couple of girls. _Why are you talking about the china? Honestly, Tamaki, you call yourself a host._

Still despite the random question, the girls were swooning in his arms. And Tamaki wasn't the only host talking about the china. Hikaru and Kaoru were talking about the china too. That is until Kaoru "split" some hot tea on his hand and Hikaru affectionately held Kaoru's hand comforting him.

"I can't take it! It's overwhelming!" A girl squealed to her friend sitting beside her.

"Really because I find rather whelming," I muttered to myself as I watched the scene from afar.

"You have to watch this," the other girl was saying. "You may not get another chance. Who knows when it will happen again?"

Sweeping in, Kyoya made another quick sales pitch for the club, "You are absolutely right, mademoiselle. All beauty is fleeting. Just take a look at these cherry blossoms. You'll never be able to see them this vibrant again. And that's why I've compiled this picture book that contains photos that capture the beauty of each passing day. Incidentally, I've prepared similar books of the other hosts as well. And if you ladies are interested in collecting all five of them, I'll discount the full set for you."

_SAY WHAT?! YOU TOOK PICTURES OF ME? WHEN? HOW?_

"I'll take them!"

"Me too!"

"Well, now we know how the club makes extra money," the twins began to say.

"But I have to wonder," Hikaru broke off.

"When did he take pictures of us?" Kaoru finished. _That, sir, is a very good question. _

I turned my attention back to Honey who was sitting next to Mori who was sitting across from Haruhi and me. I was watching him stir one of the drinks and he clearly was over doing it. _Should I say something to him? _I tried to talk to Mori too, to catch his eye and talk that way, but he was avoiding my gaze. I was afraid of this─ that my desperation to figure out the truth would ruin the little relationships I had with them.

"Mitsukuni, you overdid it." Mori told Honey. Honey stared down at the almost empty cup and his eyes began to water. However, much to Honey's luck, the girls sitting with us were quick to comfort the boy-Lolita.

"Honey, I'll take it. It looks so yummy!" The girls quickly downed what little drink was left in the cup. "It's just the right amount of both of us. Any more would be too much. How did you know? You never cease to amaze me."

"Really?" Honey asked cheering up as fast as Tamaki did.

"Haruhi, how are you doing? Are you having a good time?" Tamaki asked as our guests departed. _Why am I always left out? _ Grumbling, I grabbed a tea pot that was on one of the tables and started drinking straight from the pot. I was really enjoying the tea, hot and refreshing. That is until Kyoya came by and took the pot from my hands.

"That's not how a gentleman would drink," he scolded me.

"I know that, but it's easier than pouring myself a cup of tea," I retorted with a shrug. "Hey, Kyoya-senpai… do you know anything about my past?"

My question seemed to surprise him as he stopped what he was doing. He began to say something, but I didn't hear it because the twins dragged me away from him asking about elective courses this year.

"So, Haruhi, Kenji, have you decided your elective courses for this term?" Hikaru and Kaoru were asking Haruhi and I.

"How about conversational French?" Kaoru inquired.

"I don't know," Haruhi shrugged.

"Already fluent," I said shaking off Hikaru's arms draped around my shoulders.

"Well, I think the four of us should take it together. It makes perfect sense," Hikaru continued not fazed by my actions or words.

"We are, after all, in the same class," the twins continued together, talking pointedly to Tamaki. _Did I miss something? What are they trying to do to Tamaki…because I want in. _

"Say, Mommy dear?" Tamaki asked looking up from the base of the tree where he was crouching in another one of his depressive moods.

"What is it now, Daddy?" Kyoya responded, pausing from writing in his black book and even using the word Daddy to please the eccentric blonde who was already low in the trenches.

"I have a new theory," Tamaki began slowly, afraid that his theory was right. "I mean, it's just my hypothesis. But it seems that by being in the same class, Hikaru and Kaoru are able to spend more time with Haruhi than I get to at the club. This gives them a chance to get close to her, and if that happens…"

"Excuse me! What about me, you annoying di-shi-gah-mmmph!" I tried to complain before Kyoya placed his hand quickly over my mouth effectively silencing me.

Not even blinking, Kyoya continued on to tell Tamaki the obvious facts. "Tamaki, you just now realized that?" Tamaki, in a rather dramatic way, was then shocked by lighting that came from the depths of anime weirdness. "According to my research, in a single day, the twins spend roughly nine hours of class time with Haruhi AND Kenji." Kyoya stressed the word 'and.'

"Thank you," I muttered after yanking his hand off my mouth.

"Meanwhile, your contact with THEM is limited to a couple of hours of club activities. In other words, your involvement in THEIR lives each day amounts to no more than a mere 3%. I'm so very sorry," Kyoya finished. I was happy to hear him stress the fact that as much as Haruhi was here I was too. I was sick of being ignored.

"Aah! I don't wanna hear it! I don't wanna hear it! Listen, Haruhi! Kenji! I want you to stop hanging out with those shady twins from now on!" Tamaki ordered, grasping tightly onto Haruhi.

"Hey! Who are you calling shady!" Hikaru yelled, waving his hand in the air.

"Yeah, take a good at yourself, boss!" Kaoru retorted as he mimicked his brother's actions.

As the words dawned on him, Tamaki's eyes widened a bit as he staggered in shock. "Yes, that's it. All right then. We can't go on hiding the fact that you're girls from everyone in the school any longer. All Daddy wants is for you to go back to being the girls you used to be, for you to surround yourselves with girlfriends and start leading wholesome lives." Tears were flowing from Tamaki's eyes and it was a peculiar sight that I have to admit was not something that you saw everyday…that is if you didn't know Blondie Boy.

"Who are you calling Daddy?" Haruhi and I asked simultaneously.

"So, do it. Change back now. Change right now," Tamaki ordered sharply with more urgency in his tone.

Standing side-by-side, Hikaru and Kaoru reminded us of something that would seriously change the game. "You don't have to rush things. They're going to be found out soon."

"Physical exams are the day after tomorrow."

"Physical exams?" Haruhi asked as all guys stared at us.

"That's right. I forgot all about it," Kyoya said and I bet he was internally facepalming because for a guy who knows his facts, he sure forgot an important one.

"Then that means there's no doubt," I started to voice the words on everyone's mind.

"They're gonna know we're really girls." Haruhi finished my thought for me as lighting struck through all the boys.

A little while later, I found myself transported back to the Host Club's room. Since Kyoya stole the tea pot from me and I wasn't able to quench my thirst completely, I had to hunt around the room for something to drink. There wasn't any coffee beans left and I was too lazy to go and get some more from the store. There also was no more lemonade unless I made more, but I was still too lazy for that too. Kyoya confiscated all the tea pots so I was left with nothing. That is until I noticed a soda in Hikaru's bag.

Seeking up slowly, I swiped the western drink from the pocket of his bag and carefully ran away with it. Pretending like I found the drink in one of the cabinets, I walked back over the twins. I gulped down the caffeinated soda, quenching my thirst quickly, as I came up shortly to stand beside Hikaru and Kaoru as they watched Tamaki have another one of his weird daydreams that I'm pretty sure involved Haruhi.

"He must be having a great daydream," Honey spoke up first.

"But he's kind of creeping me out," Hikaru stated, shaking his head. Turning to me, he noticed that I was drinking his Yellow Mellow soda. "Hey! Is that mine?"

"Maybe," I maliciously grinned, but before Hikaru could do anything in revenge, Tamaki 'woke' up. "Haha, sucks to suck," I laughed at the demon's misfortune. Hikaru growled in annoyance.

Snapping out of his fantasy, Tamaki began to explain yet another one of his theories, "Envious, Hikaru? This is all part of my strategy. While you've wasted time blinded by your jealousy, I've foreseen the outcome of this charade. This anime is obviously a romantic school comedy. Haruhi and I are the main characters. So that means we are love interests."

"Yeah, then what are we?" the twins retorted.

"You boys are the homosexual supporting cast. So, please make sure that you don't step across this line," Tamaki responded drawing a line in the stone floor with a stick. _How did he do that? Wait, wait, did he just call me homosexual?!_

"Excuse me? I AM A GIRL! Doesn't that mean at least ONE of these other boys is not a part of 'the homosexual side cast?' I doubt any of them are anyways," I complained loudly.

"Yeah, you've got to be kidding," the twins agreed grumbling along with me.

Turning once again to Blondie Boy, Hikaru began to speak again, "Hey listen, boss."

"I don't think you get it," Kaoru added.

"If word gets out that Haru-chan AND Ken-chan are really girls, then they won't be able to be in the Host Club anymore. But if Haru-chan and Ken-chan started wearing girls' clothes, I bet they'd be even cuter than they are now," Honey finished as Tamaki went whiter that a piece of paper. I could just see Tamaki's fantasy crumbling down like building blocks.

"They dressed like regular girls when they were in middle school, right? They must've been pretty popular with all the boys," Hikaru mused aloud.

"Yeah, according to my investigative report, someone would declare their undying love to Haruhi at least once a month. Kenji, on the other hand, had lots of attention from her job," Kyoya coolly informed the group.

"Oh, I see," Kaoru nodded. "So the boss wouldn't even be able to get close to her or Kenji."

"But we'd be able to because we're in class with her all day long," Hikaru commented.

"No way…" Tamaki cried, still frozen in place.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm so late," Haruhi called as she entered the room. I was wondering where she was during that whole scene. I was getting lonely being the only (somewhat) levelheaded person in the room.

"You're late, Haru. You should really buy a watch," I mocked much to her chagrin.

"Don't you worry, Haruhi!" Tamaki yelled, grasping on to my sister. "We're determined to keep your secret. No one will find out that you're really a girl during tomorrow's physical exams. So please, promise you'll stay one of our beloved secret princesses."

"Sure," Haruhi said, blinking a couple of times, not quite sure of what to make of the situation she walked into.

"I guess I will too, if you want to know," I absently-minded said to no particular person.

"You know what, I think both of us would be a little peeved if we had to watch all the guys flirt with them," Hikaru said.

"Then that settles it," Kaoru announced.

"Listen up, squad members. At tomorrow's physical exams, position yourselves in formation A. And then wait for your orders," Tamaki was ordering the boys around while showing them what do on this board that was already labeled "Operation: Conceal Haruhi and Kenji's Gender." Just in case that wasn't enough, it also had another name─ "Operation: I Swear Haruhi and Kenji Are Boys!" _When did he have time to write that? Did he already assume it would come to this? _

"Yes, sir!" Hikaru and Kaoru saluted.

"I've got it," Haruhi mused aloud while pacing off to the side. "You guys are worried because if they find out I'm a girl, I can't be a host and therefore can't repay my debt. Um, my balance is 5,333,332 yen…Well, guess I'll have to come up with another way to pay you back."

"Do something. One of the subjects doesn't appear to have any motivation," the twins whisper-worried to Tamaki.

"Why did we get stuck with such a difficult heroine? Are you saying that you hate being a host? That you hate this club?" Tamaki grandly asked Haruhi while pointing his finger at her.

"I don't," I said just to put it out there, but since I'm a side heroine, no one really cares about what I have to say whenever Haruhi is involved.

"To be honest, I'd have to say yes," Haruhi bluntly admitted striking Tamaki in the heart. Not taking into the consideration that Tamaki was now moping, Haruhi continued, "I mean you guys aren't bad and Kenji's here, but if it gets out that I'm a girl, there's nothing I can do, you know?

"She doesn't seem to care one way or the other," Hikaru was complaining.

"Well before we do anything else, we have to find a way to motivated her," Kaoru urged the others on find an idea and suddenly I had one.

"Fancy tuna," Mori and I said simultaneously. Turning our heads to look at each, I caught his gaze and a blush began to rise on my cheeks. Quickly I looked away and it seemed no one else noticed my sudden embarrassment.

"Oh, that's right," Tamaki cruelly mocked, coming back over to the land of the happy again. "You didn't get the chance to eat any during last episode's party, did you?"

"Did you hear that? She's never eaten fancy tuna before. Isn't that awful?" Hikaru was whispering to Kaoru and me.

"Wow, talk about a difficult childhood," Kaoru added.

"Might I say, as a commoner, that it was delicious. So much better than regular tuna," I smacked my lips together for extra effect.

"If only Haru-chan, like Ken-chan, would stay in the host club, she'd have the chance to eat all kinds of yummy things whenever she wants."

As our words started having an effect, Haruhi desperately tried to act like they weren't affecting her, "What are you talking about? Don't be silly. Just because I'm poor and I've never had it doesn't mean I'm so much of a glutton that I'd go on fooling everyone about my gender just to try some fancy tuna…" Eventually Haruhi cracked under our scrutiny and she relented, caving in with an exasperated sigh. "Am I really gonna get to try it?"

"That is if I don't eat it all first, because, sis, fancy tuna is one of the best things I have tasted in a long time."

Physical exams came the next morning and I wasn't sure what to make of them. I have never gone to a real school before and therefore have never needed a physical exam. My crook of a guardian never let me go to school and he never took me to a real doctor either. I guess while you're working as hostess you don't need those things.

Together Haruhi and I walked with the twins toward the clinic in our 'respective school building' whatever that meant.

"So, what's the deal with the formation A thing you guys were talking about?" Haruhi was asking since apparently she did not read the big sketch that Tamaki had drawn out on the whiteboard the day earlier.

"What do they do during physical exams here at Ouran, anyway?" I wondered aloud to the twins while we were heading toward the exam area. I ignored Haruhi's previous question as did the twins.

"It's no different than a physical exam you'd get at any other school," Hikaru told me.

"Yeah, why would a physical exam be any different for us just because we're rich?" Kaoru added.

"That's not what I meant. What do you do…?" I trailed off as the doors opened and the bright light flashed before us revealing two rows of nurses and doctors.

"Welcome, students," the doctors chorused together in a strangely jovial manner.

"W-what is all this?" I stuttered, because whatever I was expected was not this and this was worse.

"The usual," Kaoru casual said over his shoulder.

"The usual?" I asked incredulously.

"Excuse me, Hitachiin brothers," a nurse broke into our conversation. "Please follow me this way to have your height measured."

"Sure thing."

"Fujioka brothers, I'll be your nurse for the physical exams this afternoon," another nurse said coming up to Haruhi and me.

"Okay," Haruhi said speaking for the both of us. As we walked away with the nurse, we happened to come across a very obvious pair of hosts we knew. Honey and Mori were dressed as doctors and all the girls were able to see right through their cheesy disguises. I chuckled to myself about it, but it was Haruhi who pointed them out.

"I've got those two for backup just in case something happens," Kyoya explained as he came up to us from nowhere.

"But why are they in doctor disguises?" Haruhi asked.

"And why are you here? Shouldn't you be taking your own physical exam?" I added to her question.

"They're just helping set the mood, as am I. The disguises make our operation feel like a real espionage mission," Kyoya asked as he continued along.

As we walked, we watched the doctors interact with the students. They were all rather jovial and positive and it was kinda creepy. No doctor is that nice without reason or so I've been told. Once again voicing the questions I had in my head, Haruhi asked Kyoya why all the doctors were being so nice.

He responded with, "They're chosen by the school's chairman. This may be a school, but it's also a business. Therefore, he wants to keep students happy. After all, most of the students that attend Ouran academy come from prominent families that have their own private doctors at home. So, this is just a formality."

"These damn rich people," Haruhi muttered walking away.

Suddenly a man ran into Kyoya; he was a scraggly looking doctor who apologized quickly before hurrying away.

"No problem," Kyoya said. After the doctor was gone, Kyoya let out a 'huh.'

"Who was that?"

"No idea." _Well that's reassuring. Weird-looking doctor on the loose!_

After the little run-in with the weird doctor dude, we came across the Hitachiin twins taking their own exam while a hoard of fangirls eagerly watched.

"Hitachiin brothers, would you please come with me? We're ready to do your chest measurements. You can use the area behind this curtain to undress," a nurse was telling them.

"Doesn't matter to me," Hikaru said taking off his shirt in an overly sexual manner.

"We're not shy. Who needs a curtain?" Kaoru took off his own shirt in a similar manner to his brother, much to the delight of the girls who were staring quite intensively at them.

"See, Haruhi, Kenji. A rather impressive turnout today; physical exam day is quite popular with the ladies," Kyoya informed us. _What is wrong with the girls at this school? Yes, they look handsome, but drooling over them won't do anything to help you get close to them...not like I care about who they date…why am I even thinking this? I have bigger problems like amnesia. Damn you romantic author, just cuz you're single and whatnot doesn't mean I have the same problem or loneliness with being single! I like it! _

"I won't allow it," Hikaru began. _Oh, not this again. Not this act please….you're half naked for God's sake!_ "It's just not fair; I won't let those doctors touch you, Kaoru."

"What are you talking about? You don't seem to have a problem touching me when we play doctor at home. I can't get you to stop tickling me and toying with my body," Kaoru pretended like he was embarrassed which earned them plenty of squeals from the on-lookers. I turned away from the scene just as phase 1 of the operation started.

"Come on, Haru-chan, this way," Honey said pulling Haruhi away with him.

"Kenji, you'll stay here," Mori said as he placed his hands on my shoulders.

Ears burning, I gulped and nodded a yes. I was still embarrassed from yesterday's conversation.

"Your name, it's Kaito Tokushima," Mori, bending down, whispered into my ear.

"Kaito…?" I whispered quietly. My eyes spread wide in realization and my body went slack as my mind flooded with memories that I had forgotten. My memories now came rushing back in a flood of fast images and words. My head pounded with vigor and my legs went weak as my knees buckled beneath me. I would have fallen to the ground had Mori not caught me.

"You okay?"

"Just peachy, I just have a slight headache…"Before I could finish my thought, my headache overcame me and my eyes rolled back. I lost consciousness in Mori's arms.

~Flashback~

"Kaito," a woman called from the other room.

"Yes, mother," I responded walking toward her. _So this is my mom. She's so pretty with her blue eyes and dark long hair. _

"Kaito, you're going to go to live in Japan with some of Daddy's business partners. It'll be safer for you. You'll be away from all this fighting that's going on around here," my mother told me bending down to look me in my eyes.

"But Mommy! I don't wanna go. I wanna stay with you!" I cried throwing my arms around her shoulders firmly and sobbing uncontrollably. "Don't you love me? Why, Mommy?"

"Kai, I love you very much. That is why I'm sending you away. People made threats against our company, against Daddy. I don't want you to get hurt so I am trusting you to go and stay safe with the Morinozuka family."

"Morin-no-zuka?"

"Yes, they are good friends and they have son that is two years older than you. I'm sure you're like it there."

~time skip~

"Mommy!" I cried all the way to the airport. Gripping tightly to my suitcase, I carried it up the planes stairs. I was escorted by a trusted butler and I held onto his hand in fear of all the strange people that were in the airport. All the noise and smells were overwhelming me and I have never gone anywhere without Mommy or Daddy.

Chuckling softly, the butler comforted me by squeezing my hand firmly. Once we were on the plane, the butler wrapped me up in blanket and I fell asleep, tears still streaming down my face.

~time skip~

"Miss Tokushima, we are almost at the Morinozuka residence. It will be a few minutes."

"Okay."

In a few minutes we pulled up to the large estate just like the butler said we would. It was grand and beautiful and I immediately tried to soak it all up despite the sadness that still held me tight in its grip.

"It's so amazing….Mommy would have loved it," I bent down and cried again, oblivious to the fact that there were people waiting to meet.

"Miss…"

"Here," a tall boy stood before me holding out a pink bunny to me. "You can have her."

"T-thank y-you," I looked up and took the bunny from the boy. I thanked him as I hiccupped between the sobs that were racking my small body.

"So stop crying, Mitsukuni and I will protect you," the boy spoke again, this time holding out his hand to me. I took it and he help me stand up. I wiped off my tears with the back of my hand and once again took a hold of his hand.

"I'm Kaito, but you can call me Kai," I introduced myself as he lead me into his home.

"I'm Takashi," he said smiling at me. We spent the rest of the day getting to know each other. We hit it off really well and it turned out that we had a lot in common like the same birthday on May 5 and that we both liked the color navy blue.

"Who's Mitsukuni?" I asked at one point, remembering what Takashi said to me earlier.

"My cousin."

~time skip~

"Mitsukuni! Give me back Usii-chan!" I yelled as I chased after the short blonde. He was the same height as me despite being two years older than me, but he was still faster than me even though our legs are the same lengthe.

"Come get me, slowpoke!"

"No fair! I'll never catch you!" I tried to sprint harder but I only managed to trip and run into Takashi who caught me before I fell. "Thanks Taka-bear!"

"Taka-bear?" Takashi asked quizzically.

"You're big like a bear and you're nice like teddy bear, so Taka-bear. You like?"

"Yeah!"

~time skip~

"Where's the little girl?" a gruff voiced asked.

"How should I know?" Another voice answered.

"Well, find her! We have a deadline to kidnap her by," the first voice snapped. Shaking in fear, I hid in one of the back rooms. Taka-bear and Mitsukuni were out in the dojo so they couldn't save me and none of the staff was around to help me. I was alone─ completely and utterly alone.

"I heard something in here. Hey, I found her!"

Screaming, I climbed out the window and ran. I ran all the way to a street intersection. I could hear the kidnapper's footfalls coming up behind me.

"I got her!" But instead of grabbing me, he shoved me out onto the road just as a car was coming toward me.

~time skip~

"Hello, Kenji. Do you remember me? I'm your father," a harsh-looking man told me when I woke up from the accident.

"No, I want my Daddy!" I cried out, not listening to him.

"Hush now, darling. I am your Daddy," the man claiming to be my father consoled me.

"Daddy?"

~time skip~

"Get to work, you lazy piece of shit!" my 'father' Ratri ordered me.

"Yes, sir!" I said with a quick bow before rushing off to serve more customers. He had me working all day every day as a hostess for his "hostess club." It was a dump, soaked in the smell of alcohol and beer that never would go away and the floors would always stay dirty despite how many times I scrubbed the yellowed white floors. The harsh smell of cigarettes never left the seats and it was hell for me. I worked under the calling of the 'Little Girl.' Some guys just like being served by a child, I guess. _ What perverts…_ I would not complain about it or else I would not get fed. I would not cry about it or else I would get beaten. There was no happiness except for Kotoko who was a kind older hostess that always shared her meals and let me sleep with her when Ratri was being mean to me.

"Come here, kiddo. Let's get to scrubbing those floors," Kotoko called out to me in her cheery voice.

~time skip~

"I'm planning on selling the girl. She's getting to old to be a "Little Girl" anymore and she's not pretty enough to be regular hostess," Ratri said to a bearded man I didn't know. _Sell me? He can't, can he? I don't wanna be sold. He may be an ass, but he's my father, isn't he? He can't just give me away._

"You think you'll return her for ransom?" The bearded man asked.

"Nah, it's been too long. They think she's dead." _What Ransom? Who thinks I'm dead? Who's they? _

"You should sell her to the highest bidder in the club," the bearded man chuckled, glancing out to the show floor where all the perverts were. The club's guests were as nasty as the building the club was in.

"Hey, kiddo. Come over here," Kotoko called me over to her from my eavesdropping spot. "Come on, sweetie. We're getting you out of here today."

"But what about you? Don't you want to leave too?" I cried as I hugged her tightly.

"You have your whole life ahead of you. You're only fourteen and you're working all day in the hell hole. It's not right and no girl of mine will be sold like cattle. Not you, my darling." Kotoko took my hand and lend me into the back room. Together we packed a small bag with a few clothes and some food. "I want you to take this money and I want you to get as far away from here as you can. Don't turn around. Don't be scared."

"But this is all your savings. You're so close to paying back your debt to Ratri. I can't just take it from you." I shook my head in despair, fear creeping up on me. Ratri was a cruel cruel man who didn't take scorn or disobedience well. Actually, he didn't tolerate it at all and he beat anyone who acted differently.

Holding my chin and lifting my head up, Kotoko spoke softly and urgently to me, "Honey, you can and you will. I want you to go and live a real life. I want you to be happy and safe. I love you too much to keep you trapped here. Never mind me; my life is fulfilled as long as I know that you will be safe."

"But what if he finds me? He'll…" I protested, shaking my whole body this time.

"You're smart and clever. You won't be found, but you're right. We have to make you unrecognizable." Kotoko held up a pair of scissors. Soon, she went to work and snipped away at my long curly brown hair. She cut my hair to make me look more like a boy. "There you're unrecognizable."

"Thank you, Kotoko. You're the best." I hugged her very tightly for the last time.

"Go. Get out of here." Kotoko shooed me out the door. "I love you, Kenji. Call me when you're safe and only once. I don't want Ratri to trace it back to you."

"I will. And I love you," I turned to leave, only to turn back again. "Kotoko, one day I'll find you and I'll save you. I promise."

"I know you will."

~time skip~

I switched trains twice and buses thrice. I was almost out of money. I had nowhere to stay and it was three months into my run. The rainy season coming up and I couldn't afford to catch a cold. The wind started picking up as the light faded from the sky and I could smell the rain coming. Running down the street, I found a small park to take shelter in. Night fell quickly and I curled up against myself to protect myself from the cold. I drifted off to sleep.

"Hey! Whatcha doing sleeping in the park?" a girl called up at me. "My, my, you look dirty."

"I am sorry. I was just trying to avoid the rain," I apologized while climbing down to face the girl who looked like she was my age.

"Don't you have a home?" she asked bluntly, noting my bag and scraggy appearance.

"No, I-ah...don't have one. Not anymore," I replied staring down at the ground.

"You don't? Well, why don't you come home with me? I'm Haruhi by the way," she stuck out her hand and I shook it.

"Kenji."

~time skip~

"There, it's official! You're legally a part of the Fujioka family!" Haruhi's dad, Ranka, excitedly cheered.

"Thanks. You guys have done so much for me," I said tearing up a little as I hugged them tightly.

"No prob, Kenji. After you told us about what happened, how could we let you go back there?" Haruhi smiled.

"To thank you, I'll make dinner."

"Yay! Kenji's special!" They cheered and I laughed as I headed to the kitchen.

~time skip~

When the two large envelopes came in mail addressed to Haruhi and me, I practically jumped out the window in joy.

"Haruhi! They're here! The letters from Ouran!" I yelled across the kitchen. "And they're heavy!"

Haruhi came bounding into the room and together on count of three we opened the letters.

"I got in!" we both cheered at the same time.

"I can't believe it. I made it in," Haruhi was muttering.

"I had no doubt that you would make it in. I just can't believe I'm going to a real school!"

"You deserve it. Now let's go tell Dad we're going to Ouran!"

~End Flashback~

I awoke on a couch in side room of the clinic. I blinked my eyes open to the harsh light of the midevening sun. _What happened? How long was I out? _I pulled the blanket that was wrapped around me off and I tried to stand up, but my legs were too weak and I fell back, my head pounded still swirling with returning memories. I felt really dizzy and disorientated, but I also felt like I was whole. With my memories slowly returning, I felt the hole in my mind filling up again. I remembered, not everything but enough to know who I was. Everything was jumbled, but now I had more pieces to the puzzle. I could, with help, put the puzzle of my life back together.

"Ssh, she still might be sleeping," I heard Honey whisper as the door creaked open.

"What happened to her anyway?" Hikaru asked. "Is she okay?"

"She fainted," Mori said simply.

Coming up to my side, Haruhi was the first to notice that I was awake, "Hey guys, she's awake! Kenji, how are you feeling?"

"Like I just had fifteen pounds crammed into my mind," I weakly joked, still not completely recovered from my headache.

"What do you mean?"

"Haruhi, I remembered."

"Remembered what?"

"My past before the accident...not everything, but enough to know who I am or well was."

"That's great, Kenji," Haruhi hugged me tighter. "That's great."

They started out slowly, the tears. But soon, they fell in streams─ an outpouring of emotions that I had held in for too long. Haruhi hugged me as tightly as she could and all the other hosts crowded around and hugged me too and despite the fog that still laid thick in my mind, I knew I was home surrounded by all of them. I let out small laugh and soon everyone was smiling.

"You okay?" Honey asked and I nodded yes.

"How long was I out?" I looked around at the hosts.

"I would say about three hours," Kyoya calculated quickly.

"Really, so what did I miss while I was out?" I wondered aloud. I was out longer than I originally thought.

"Well, there was the perverted doctor name Yabu and…."

**Next time: Attack of the Lady Manager**

19


	5. Attack of the Lady Manager

**Attack of the Lady Manager**

I found out over the next couple of days that my memory didn't come back all at once. Ever since the incident I've been having dreams of my childhood like little snippets of memory flashing on a flickering screen. I kept rolling my name Kaito Tokushima over my tongue again and again. It seemed so strange to say, like it belonged to me, but then again it didn't any more. I reviewed the facts I knew so many times I lost count. I made lists of what I knew, of what I learned about myself from these dreams and returning memories, and what I learned from Honey and Mori. A combined list of things I remembered went like this:

Name: Kaito Tokushima

Birthday: May 5, same as Mori's, 2 years younger than him

Favorite Color used to be blue, now an emerald green

Knew Mori and Honey as a child

Lived with Mori for about three years, 3ish to 7 years old

Called Mori Taka-bear

Usii-chan and Usa-chan used to be stuffed bunny couple

Mori gave me Usii-chan

Honey and Mori thought I was dead

My family still doesn't know I am alive

The car accident was an actual accident

Ratri double-crossed the kidnappers when he took me from the hospital

Ratri knows who I am, but he doesn't know where to find me.

I am…

"Kenji!" Hikaru yelled at me as he waved his hand in front of my face which startled me from my mental list making. "Aw, so the klepto lives."

"Who are you calling a klepto, twin lover?" I retorted shoving Hikaru away from me.

"Twin lover? Really, that's low," Hikaru mocked with a matching grin to mine.

"And klepto isn't? You're such a hypocrite," I smirked at him as I rolled off the couch to stand. The Host Club was filling with guests and I still had to get ready for the day.

"Keep telling yourself that," Hikaru sassed as I was walking away from him. _Damn, why did he get the last word? I wanted the last word! _ I was about to say something snarky back but the guests had already arrived and it would not have be a gentlemanly statement and with my luck Kyoya would have charged me for it.

"Oh, Kenji, my dearest Kenji, would you make me some of that delicious chai tea that you made me earlier?" One of my customers asked and I kindly obliged.

"Yes, my darling, anything for you, anytime, anyplace. However, it's my special blend so I can't always guarantee the taste." She smiled and nodded and I went off to make the tea at the same bar where the coffee machine was. As I was crafting the tea, taking extra time to make it special, I watched the hosts interact with the guests.

"Oh, Tamaki, why are you so beautiful?" A girl was asking the blond host.

"I'm hoping to catch your eye even if for just one second," Tamaki replied smoothly. _Does anyone still have that spoon to gag me with? _

"Then why is your voice so very sweet and mellow?" another girl murmured.

"To set your nerves at ease, so that my true feelings might reach your heart." Tamaki smiled again. I tried to refrain from laughing at his ridiculous flirting.

"Why are your eyes filled with tears every time you look at me?" a third girl queried. I was wondering if they noticed the fake tears too that were dotted his eyes.

"Because the sight of your beautiful smile causes the fountain inside of me to start overflowing," Tamaki blinked away more tears that were literally overflowing. Leave it to him to using cry as a method to entice women…_how original, Blondie Boy. You're the first to ever use this technique, not!_

I shifted my gaze away from the scene and my eyes landed, then, upon the twins. I hoped they had less tears involved with their hosting.

"I think it's adorable that you're wearing matching kimonos," a girl complimented the twins. I should know that they were wearing kimonos since I was forced into mine, a deep emerald color. I didn't want to wear it after what happened to me two years ago at one of Ratri's cosplay parties and I was forced to wear one. The men I was hosting were…being inappropriate and that is as far as I am going to relive that moment.

"Our mother designed everything the hosts are wearing today. If you see something you like, we can take an order for you," the twins chorused, hearing the cha-ching of a cash register as a sale was made. _Of course they're going to buy something. They always buy something, you rich bastards. _

"Our grandmother even helped us put them on," Kaoru began. Instantly, I knew they were starting to act again. I didn't even realized that I could tell when they switched to acting. It seemed so instinctual to read people and know when their behavior changed…I guess it even applies to doppelgängering demons.

"But you know the only one who will be undressing you is me, Kaoru," Hikaru turned on to his brother.

"Hikaru, you're embarrassing me! In front of everybody…"Kaoru whimpered, tears welling in his eyes. _What did I say about the tears! They're up to the same nonsense as Tamaki! Can't a girl get a break from stupidity?_

I immediately looked away from the twins and back to the tea I was starting to make. The water began to boil and whistle. I started measuring and mixing the chai leaves into the steaming water to create my special blend. Adding the leaves to the water to steep, I watched Haruhi interact with some of the guests next.

"Haruhi, you look so cute in your kimono!" Some girls were squealing.

"Almost like a girl!" Another said. _She is a girl, not almost…_

Haruhi smiled and thanked the girls in the simple natural way she does.

"Haruhi," Kyoya called her over. "You've booked another appointment. It seems you've had a pretty steady flow of new customers lately. Keep up the good work." He paused to scribble something else on the paper he was writing on. "I'm not going to charge you interest on your debt like I normally would. So keep this up, and you should be able to pay it off, although the rental fee on that kimono you're wearing is nothing to sneeze at."

_He's like some kind of heartless tax collector. Thank God that part of my agreement to wear the kimono was that I didn't have to pay the rental fee. I figured out that there were interest rates and extra fees on our debt after I checked our total debt and cross-referenced it to what Haruhi and I made. Once I noticed something was up, I yelled at Kyoya for it, that damn bastard. Keeping us here like good little workers… what a….that's not a nice thought Kenji, we've been working on this. Don't insult people like that, especially Kyoya. He can read minds. _

"It's true, Kenji. I can read minds," Kyoya said turning to me from where he was working.

"What? H-how d-did you-u do that-t?" I stuttered going pale as Kyoya called me out. _He really can read minds…shit. I'm screwed…_

"This anime allows a few rules to broken." Kyoya shrugged in his usual fashion. _No really? I didn't notice all the shit that you get away with. Never sleeps─ still one of the most alert hosts, reads minds─ no one notices, makes shit appear from nowhere─ no one questions it. Seriously, like what the hell anime? You think no one's watching, well I am. So─_

As I was about to say something, a girl cut in. "Hello Kyoya, I can't get over how great you look in that kimono. Are you planning to release any more picture books of the Host Club?"

"Unfortunately, we don't have anything planned at present, ladies," Kyoya responded, giving the girls a dazzling but fake smile.

Peering over one of the Oriental privacy wall thingamabobs, Hikaru asked whispering, "But doesn't the club make a lot of money…"

"From the sale of promotional items?" Kaoru finished the thought still talking quietly like his brother.

"That's true, but the items are poor quality. Those picture books were full of nothing but amateur hidden camera shots." He showed the twins blurry shots. "However, if we want to create some higher-quality, money-making products, I'm afraid we'd have to draw money from the school's budget," Kyoya explained as he tapped away on a calculator. _If it wasn't for Kyoya, the Host Club would spiral into the depth of bankruptcy…if only and then I would be out of this mess. But then again I would…sadly…miss all these obnoxious, narcissistic, and condescending hosts. _

"Haru-chan, Ken-chan, I don't know how, but I lost one of my sandals," Honey cried. In his hand was only one of his sandals. His other sandal couldn't be far.

"But you were just wearing them, weren't you?" Haruhi asked walking over to Honey.

"Mitsukuni," Mori spoke. His deep voice sending a little shiver down my spine, I still wasn't used to his voice being so different. He changed a lot in the past seven years and it was approaching the eight year since the accident. Mori bent down and placed the sandal on Honey's foot Cinderella style.

"Takashi," Honey answered, voice wavering.

"I noticed that you dropped it."

"Takashi!" With tears in his eyes, Honey threw his arms around Mori in a loving embrace.

All the girls were soaking it up. I shook my head. Now even Honey and Mori had been recruited into Tamaki's scheme of the day. _Shit! The tea! _Luckily, the tea wasn't over-steeped and the flavor came out nice. I poured a cup for the guest and rushed it back over to her apologizing for the belatedness. The girl didn't mind and was happy to have a cup of tea 'specially made for me by Kenji.'

"Looks like tears are popular with the ladies today," Haruhi was muttering to herself and I heard it.

"You noticed too? I thought maybe there was some pollen flying around," I joked nudging Haruhi in the shoulder.

"Yeah, but how are they all able to cry so easily?" Haruhi took a couple steps back and bumped into Kaoru. From Kaoru sleeve, a little dropper of liquid fell to the ground. "What's this?"

The bottle was labeled High Grade Eye Drops. _What the hell? They were faking it!? I knew it, I knew it! They can't even cry without help. I can and I'm not using it as leverage. Maybe girls want guys with a level head on their shoulders…well at least not in this Host Club they do…_

Kaoru casually brushed it off saying, "For your information, it's common for a host to use eye drops."

"No woman alive can resist a man on the brink of tears," Hikaru added. _ What about me? I wasn't impressed. _

"That's cheating," Haruhi and I scolded.

"Oh, don't be such a party-pooper, klepto," Hikaru said as he threw his arm around me and poked me in my face.

"Don't call me klepto, twin lover," I retorted as I poked him back harder.

"Here, Haruhi. This is for you." Kaoru gave Haruhi a little dessert to have.

"It's for me?" Haruhi asked slowly.

"Aren't you the cutest?" the twins cooed together. I scoffed at the brothers and rolled my eyes at my sister. She asked to keep the dessert even after Kaoru gave it to her, only my sister…

"I didn't know you like sweets, Haruhi," a guest noted in the background.

"Well, to be honest with you, I don't really. But, you know, I think it would be a nice memorial offering for my mother."

"How admirable of you!" Tamaki grandly began, twirling as he came in front of Haruhi. "Such devotion to your mother's memory! Please, Haruhi, take as many of these as you like." Tamaki began stacking up more desserts into her heads as tears shown in his eyes too.

"Let me guess. The tears are fake," Haruhi said bluntly.

"How could you?" Tamaki turned to the screen as he thought the fans who watch the show told Haruhi about the eye drops. "My tears are always genuine, Haruhi. Being able to cry without the use of eye drops is the mark of a true host. Tell me, do I impress you? Have you fallen for me yet?"

"You wish."

"My romantic overtures do not seem to be reaching you for some reason. Perhaps I should add a little more panache to my character," Tamaki mused. _Oh, no you don't. We do not need a Tamaki with more "panache." _

Upon noticing a girl hiding in the doorway, the twins announced to the group that the Host Club had a brand-new guest. Making their way over there, the twins tried to entice the girl to come in.

"Come on in. What are you waiting for?" Kaoru held out a rose as he leant toward the girl.

"Watching from afar is no fun," Hikaru added with his own red rose.

"Actually, it is-umph." Kyoya once again clamped his hand my mouth to silence me from saying something unbefitting of the club. I yanked his hand off my mouth and stuck my tongue at him. "It is for me," I muttered as the twins continued to coax the girl in.

"Please, Miss," the twins said again.

"Stop that," Tamaki ordered as he came up to charm the girl himself. "How many times do I have to tell you boys to be more courteous to our first-time guests? Please, you don't have to be afraid, my princess. I welcome you to the Ouran Host Club." Tamaki paused since the girl looked like she was about to say something. "Yes?"

Shoving Tamaki away by throwing out her arm, the girl yelled, "No! Don't touch me, you phony!"

"What do you mean I'm phony?" Tamaki cried as he staggered back in confusion, holding his face and widening his eyes; a hurt look clearly shown on his face.

"Just what I said," the girl harshly continued, her voice picking up speed and volume. "You're phony! I find it hard to believe that someone like you is the prince character of this host club! You shouldn't go spreading your love around so easily like that, you stupid! You must be a dim-witted narcissist! You're incompetent! You're a commoner! You're disgusting!" Her words hit Tamaki as arrows, piercing the fragile boy's ego and then shocking him with a bolt of lightning.

"Hey! I'm the only person in this anime who can insult Blondie Boy like that!" I complained, but of course no one heard me or paid attention to me. _Damn you, anime rules. Why couldn't I have pink hair and blue eyes? That way everyone would pay attention to me since I would be the main character. But no, I get stuck with the side role and idiots like this chick get more attention than me. Like what is this shit? I've been here longer, for at least four episodes and a prologue and suddenly this chick is more important than me. _

_Damnnnnnnnnnnnn youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, anime rules. Damn. Damn. Damn. Oh, and cry me a river to balance out all that damn. _

"He's created a new technique," Hikaru observed as Tamaki fell back slowly from his wounds inflicted by the girl.

"One-man slow-motion," Kaoru commented.

"I don't suppose you are…" Kyoya began to say before the girl cut him off.

"It's you, Kyoya! Oh, how I longed to meet you, my one and only Prince Charming!" She ran toward him, stepping on Tamaki in the process, and throwing her arms around Kyoya and grasping tightly onto him. Kyoya just stood there awkwardly. I doubt he's never met this chick before this day.

…

"Your fiancée?" Hikaru was asking again for the third time. Kaoru added, "Kyoya-senpai?"

"Of course," the girl answered, "My name is Renge Hoshakuji and I'm transferring into Ouran Academy's 1st year class A tomorrow."

Looking over at Tamaki who still seemed to be sad, all the hosts turned away from Renge to watch Tamaki and have a not so secret side conversation. I wondered aloud, "Why is he sulking?"

"Because Mommy was keeping a secret from Daddy," the twins explained to me.

"Whatever," Kyoya sighed, "Why does everyone insist on referring to us like we're husband and wife?"

Oblivious to our side conversation, Renge continued to explain her love for Kyoya. "Oh, this is a story of love at first sight. I couldn't resist the way you adored those flowers in the backyard when you thought no one else was looking. And how sweet it was when you reached out to that poor injured kitten."

"She serious?" the twins and I muttered looking at each other in confusion.

"Could you have the wrong person?" Haruhi questioned.

"No way!" Renge shouted. "I could recognize my love anywhere. He's a gentleman who's kind to everyone and doesn't ask for anything in return. He likes solitude, but in fact, sometimes he gets lonely. He looks like the star of the popular dating sim, Uki-Doki Memorial. You're my real-life Ichijo Miyabi!" She pointed dramatically to Kyoya.

"Uki-" Haruhi started.

"Doki-" Honey added.

"Otaku!" Tamaki shouted, shooting up quickly from his mood and leaping from the corner.

"Otaku?" Hikaru yelled.

"I've never seen one!" Kaoru bellowed.

"Another fangirl? Holy shit, some fangirls don't know where fandom ends and real life begins... Then again, I have trained myself not to fangirl in public so I don't know if I even know where fandom ends… after all there is no end to the fandom. Hmm… so if she's an otaku, I wonder if she'd like OHSHC…it's a good show and…" I mumbled to myself, looking every so often at Renge in a new light.

"I get it now," Kyoya realized what all Renge's nonsense was about. "You're in love with that character. You're projecting the love onto me, and you somehow deluded yourself into thinking that we're engaged. I assume this Miyabi character probably wears glasses as well."

Tamaki's face grew blank as he turned to Kyoya, "So she made it up…You're not really her fiancé, right?"

"Well no, I don't remember ever asking for her hand in marriage," Kyoya answered.

"Did you throw an apple at her? Some cultures, like…ah…Greek, consider that proposal?" I asked for clarification.

"What? No, Kenji. Besides this is the first time I've ever met the woman."

"Oh, good. Cause she's cra-cra." I said in a sing-song voice. "I mean Miyabi isn't even the best looking character in the game. No offense Kyoya."

"None taken…wait, what did you just say?" Kyoya looked at me again with a questioning look.

"I said nothing. NOTHING, I TELL YOU!" I refuted his silent accusation. I took a couple of steps back─ right into Renge.

"You're a fanboy, aren't you," Renge, hearing what I said, spoke up as she looked me over.

"What? No, I'm a dude. I-ah p-play H-halo and C-call of Duty," I stuttered nervously, glancing about the room for an escape.

"You're lying. You play it too. I can tell." Renge pressed farther.

"NO! Daddy, help me! She's breaking my personal boundaries!" I yelled out to Tamaki, but still Renge got closer to me.

"Otaku!" She screeched pointing her finger at me again.

"Fine! I am an otaku, but I don't play Uki-Doki Memorial. I couldn't afford it and I'm partial to OHSHC anyway," I relented.

"OHSHC?"

"It's about…a host club… well, it's hard to explain." I trailed off.

Renge smiled at me and nodded because she knew that many shows were not easily summed up into words. _Like Doctor Who, honestly you cannot sum that up in few words. It'd be impossible or it wouldn't convey the whole show so yeah…_ She didn't ask another question as she skipped off.

"So the klepto is an otaku. What more is our favorite toy hiding?" Hikaru whispered into my ear as he came up behind me and put his hands around my shoulders.

"Oh, lay off, twin lover." I turned to face him and stuck my tongue out at him. Mirroring me, he did the same.

Irritated with Hikaru, I came over to find Renge asking about Kyoya (surprise) and what he did in the club.

"According to my research, I understand that you are in charge of managing the club. Is that true, Kyoya?"

"That's right," Honey piped up. "Kyo-chan is our director."

"You're the club's director? That's perfect. Oh wow, I've always wanted to wear a sandwich board to advertise a business."

"We don't advertise. We're just a host club," the twins tried to bluntly dissuade the girl.

"I've made up my mind. From now on, I'm gonna be the manager of this Host Club," Renge announced. _She's not listening… I don't want her to be in the club. I don't need more stupid. I can't handle more stupid._

"Um, listen, Kyoya…" Tamaki began.

"Miss Hoshakuji is the only daughter of a very important Ohtori family client. So, please be polite and try not to offend her, all right?" Kyoya rebuffed Tamaki's plead.

"Well, boys, I can't wait to work with you."

* * *

The night fell and the next day came with Renge along with it. I was hoping she had all been a dream. Because of her, Hikaru and the others knew I am otaku. It's not like I care or anything, but some people don't think it's cool to fangirl in public and they don't understand the ways of the fandom and Tumblr and Pinterest, oh I love Pinterest, and (_we can't forget that, now can we?_). It's like my secret side and now they know. _How am I supposed to explain shipping to them? Oh, dear God, please I beg you to give them all amnesia and make them forget about yesterday. Amen._

"I thought about it a lot last night and maybe having a lady manager isn't such a bad idea." Tamaki opened the club meeting with this thought. _So, no amnesia…well, there goes that idea._

"Why do you say that?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked.

"Well, it's fairly obvious, isn't it? Renge just transferred into the same class as Haruhi." Since Tamaki forget me again, I cleared my throat with a cough to alert him and Tamaki looked at me realizing his mistake in his explanation. "…and Kenji. So if she-I mean they have a girlfriend around, it could bring out the female within them. Renge's girlish air of tenderness might be able to stimulate Haruhi's and Kenji's own sense of femininity."

"Good grief," Haruhi sweatdropped.

"You don't say, sis," I sweatdropped alongside her.

Picking up energy, Tamaki declared a new mission. "Now is our chance to help Haruhi and Kenji get in touch with their feminine sides. This is an important project, men. They don't have any friends in class right now except for these two shady twins. That's not good for them." He pointed an accusing finger at the twins.

"Like you have room to talk," the demons, who really were our only real friends in class, muttered.

Peeking her head through the door, Renge made her entrance for the day. "Hey, everyone. You'd be happy to know that your new manager, Renge, has baked all of you some cookies."

"Oh, isn't she lady-like?" Tamaki praised as he pranced over to the crazy chick. "I am so moved by your generosity."

"I didn't bake these cookies for you, you phony prince," Renge shot down Tamaki with an arrow labeled 'phony prince.' Swiftly continuing, Renge added, "I'm sorry, I burnt them a little bit. I did the best I could. And I already know what you're going to say…" She drifted off. _What is he going to say? _

"_Anything that you make for me is going to taste delicious, my dear." A voice said. Who said that? Wait, that sounds like Miyabi, but this is my mind…why am I hearing this?_

"_Oh, you're always so sweet to me, Kyoya," Renge thought. Oh, I must be reading Renge's mind. So this is what Kyoya can do. Creepy, but cool. Now how do I go back to my own thoughts? I don't want to hear Renge's love obsessed thoughts any longer!_

Watching Honey eat a cookie was luckily enough to bring me back to the real world and my own thoughts. Munching on a cookie, Honey rated what he ate. "She wasn't kidding, these cookies are really burnt."

"Don't eat that, Mitsukuni. It's bad for you," Mori warned much to the dismay of Renge who went all medusa on them, snakes in the hair and everything.

"Waah, she's scaring me!" Honey cried as Renge chased them about the room.

Grabbing a cookie for myself, Haruhi and I took a bit out of each of our cookies. The crust was a little hard and burnt, but the middle was good. The flavor was a bit cinnamony and I liked the vanilla extract she added to it.

"They're not that bad at all," Haruhi complimented.

I added, "They've got a good flavor to them."

I glanced over at the twins and I saw a light bulb light up between them. _What was that for?_

"May I try?" Hikaru asked as he grabbed my chin and bit off half of my cookie in an overly sexual manner. I looked over to Haruhi to see her being licked by Kaoru. _So this was what the light bulb was about. What perverts._

"That was my cookie, twin lover!" I playfully shoved Hikaru away.

"I had to steal something back, klepto." Hikaru shoved me back. I smiled; I haven't had anyone to mess with in a long time. _Watch out, Demon #1!_

"Did you see what they just did? He licked─" Tamaki was freaking out over what just happen. He rose from his mood just in time to see Hikaru stealing my cookie and Kaoru licking Haruhi's face.

"And suddenly, the trio of classmates is closer than they've ever been before," Kyoya narrated.

"You know, you could've just told me and I would've have wiped it off. And if you wanted to try one, they're plenty here," Haruhi, not even fazed by being licked, told the twins a roundabout fashion to not do that again.

"That's not the way you're supposed to react, Haruhi!" Tamaki cried dramatically, grasping onto Haruhi like he's done multiple times already. "You have to stay strong and reject them, then casually brush them to the side. Do you understand?" He asked shaking her roughly.

"This is sexual harassment, senpai." Haruhi muttered.

"SEXUAL HARASSMENT? If that counts as sexual harassment, then they're twice as guilty!" Tamaki pointed angrily at twins, waving his arms about wildly. "Someone, call the police."

"Cut it out, boss," the twins spoke up now. "We're sorry."

"You don't seem very sorry," I whispered the snide comment in their ears before slipping away with a grin plastered on my face. I had gotten the last word─ finally. Skipping over to Renge, I found Honey offering her some milk.

"Renge-chan, Renge-chan, want some? It's milk." Honey held up the cup that was decorated to look like a bunny.

"Lukewarm," she muttered.

"Huh?" Honey asked.

Renge looked up from her thinking position and began to fire off a torrent of information. "Every single one of you, except for Kyoya, all of your characters are lukewarm. Each of you needs to have some sort of dark side. You understand? Girls are vulnerable to handsome young men who are troubled. If you keep carrying on like this, it's only a matter of time before the girls get tired of you and stop coming all together. Are you trying to ruin my precious Kyoya's business? As your manager, it's my duty to change your character backgrounds. Let's start with you! If all you are is cute, inside and out, then you're no different to a baby. Therefore, from now on, you are the baby-faced thug. And Mori senpai, you're his childhood-friend, the flunky. The twins will be basketball players enslaved in their own world. Haruhi, you're an honor student who's constantly being bullied. As for you, Tamaki, you're the school idol who's admired for your good looks but you actually have an inferiority complex you're hiding from the world─ the lonely prince. And, Kenji, you will the boy sees through all the hardships of others but cannot understand what your own demons are. You try to help others to see if you can help yourself fix a problem you do not even understand and have no way to confront. And Kyoya, you're perfect just the way you are now. So I want you to stay as kind and affectionate as ever, 'kay?"

I heard the words she said and somehow she was right. I can see the hardships of everyone else, but my own. I can tell that Hikaru and Kaoru want someone to know them as different people, not just one. Honey wants to be older with giving up what he loves. Mori, well…he doesn't really have any problem, except he blames himself if anything happens to Honey. Haruhi can't tell what others are feeling, she's too blunt to notice love and it's hard for her to recognize her feelings for others or others' feelings for her. Kyoya has family issues and is always trying to be better, to impress a little more and know a little more. Tamaki is a little of an obliviot. It's a cross between oblivious and idiot. He doesn't realized the real way the world works all the time and it tends to lead to some situations that could have been different if he had realized things sooner. I can see all that, but _what's my problem? What am I lacking? What's my defect?_

I broke from my thoughts as I felt them start to spiral in a circle. I looked around the room to see all the other hosts process their own character changes.

"Thank you, I'm honored," Kyoya told Renge. He didn't have any changes so he was lucky, of course he would be thankful for that.

Behind him, Tamaki was staggering back and forth as he tried to process what he heard. There was even a spot light on him. _Okay, really? Was that needed? Who is making this anime, anyway?_ _C'mon!_ "The lonely prince…it's true….that title is perfect for me."

"Yeah, right," Haruhi rebuffed Renge's character changes with a squinting look. "She couldn't be farther from the truth."

"Come on, Kyoya-senpai," Hikaru said as the twins and I grabbed onto his shoulders and pulled him into a huddle so that Renge couldn't hear a thing even though she tried hard to.

"You've gotta do something," Kaoru begged.

"She's cra-cra. I don't think we should have her in the club," I pleaded.

"Why?" Kyoya asked. "It seems like the boss is up for it."

We glanced over to see a 'lonesome' Tamaki posing for Renge.

"How does this look, Renge? Do you think these poses work for a lonely prince?"

"Oh wow, you're pretty good at that, Tamaki. But you know it would be even more effective if you were standing in the rain," Renge eagerly coached.

"Let's just wait to see how things turn out," Kyoya mused aloud. "I bet it will be interesting. It always is." _Easy for you to say, nothing ever happens to you._

* * *

Somehow in some amount of time, we were transported to the world of film and were shooting a movie about our character changes. Hikaru and Kaoru were the first up. The lights from the gym shown down, hot and bright, lighting the court. Hikaru went for a basket and he made it as the crowd of girls cheered, but all too soon, a referee blew his whistled. Kaoru was injured and laying on the floor of the gym, holding his knee in pain. He would be done for the rest of the game, maybe the whole season.

"Get him as stretcher! Take him to the infirmary, immediately!" one of the coaches was ordering. Hikaru, focusing only on Kaoru, made his way over to his brother.

Dropping to the floor, Hikaru kept repeating Kaoru's name in a daze.

"You've got to get back in the game, Hikaru. We need you," another coach was saying, but Hikaru wasn't listening.

"Shut up!" Hikaru yelled. His brother was hurt and there was nothing he could do to help him. It was tragic. He had failed his brother; he could do nothing to save him.

"Hikaru, listen to me," Kaoru said softly, fighting the pain. "Please don't worry. There's nothing you can do. You can't share my pain… You are not the one who got hurt. Now, go on." Kaoru placed his hand on Hikaru's face in a loving gesture as Hikaru began to cry.

Grasping tightly onto his brother's hand, Hikaru cried, "I can't. It hurts, it hurts, Kaoru."

"Your pain is my pain. It doesn't matter to me if no one else understands. As long as we have each other, we can go on living," Renge narrated as the scene shifted outdoors and into the pouring and depressive rain.

"I'm sorry, but I'm envious. The way the two of you support each other like that," Tamaki mournfully looked down at the twins.

"But Suoh-senpai…" Hikaru trailed off.

"How can you be envious of us? You're the school's idol," Kaoru asked.

"An idol, right…I hate that people all worship me for something so superficial as my appearance. I think it would be much better for me to be alone." Tamaki leaned his head back as the rain poured down, soaking him.

"One lonely heart meets another. They pass each other, wounding one another. What are the hearts of these young men made of?" Renge continued. The scene shifting again and now it was my turn.

I stood a top of the building as it still rained. Renge gave me words to say, but they didn't fit me and they didn't fit the scene so instead I began to sing a slow haunting melody I wrote one day when Ratri was beating me and I had nowhere to go.

"Darkness closing in  
The sky is gray  
The sea is calm before the storm  
The calm before the storm

Darkness closing in  
The sky is fading fast  
The sea is raging  
Raging in my heart

I find myself afraid  
I find myself lost and alone  
I find my voice is gone  
It seems my way was wrong

And the walls are closing in  
And the lights are going out  
And I'm running away  
From this town

And the walls are closing in  
And the lights are going out  
And I'm trapped  
In this storm.

Oh, Darkness closing in…"

And with that, I let myself fall off the edge of the building. I let gravity take over as I spread my arms out. I held the position for as long as I could before I maneuvered myself to roll out the momentum safely. But the time I got to that position, the scene had already shifted to Honey and Haruhi.

"You can't run away forever," Honey was saying in a really dark and mean manner as he walked up to Haruhi who had exhausted herself in running away. "I'm gonna show you to what happens to anyone that crosses me."

"Don't do it, Mitsukuni," Mori warned. "You should have realized by now that whenever you hurt others, you're really just hurting yourself."

"I didn't ask you for any advice," Honey snapped angrily. "You want me to put you over my knee again?"

"Will it be the light of salvation that ultimately awaits these boys? Or will it be something else?" Renge voiced over.

"You know, it really pisses me off when people don't know their place." Honey's voice wavered as tears grew in his eyes. Less than three seconds later, the real Honey we know and love returned. Throwing himself into Haruhi's lap, Honey blubbered out, "I'm so sorry, Haru-chan! I can't do this anymore!"

"Cut! Cut! Cut! Cut!" Renge screeched as the rain stopped and the light returned to the sky. "What's wrong with you? You got to stick to the script."

"But I can't," Honey whimpered still wiping his eyes from his tears. Honey is just not a mean person; he can't even pretend to be mean.

"Stop rolling, cameraman," Renge ordered.

"Yes, boss."

"I want the rain to make things seem tragic," she snapped as she headed over to talk with the crew.

"How'd we go from changing our characters to shooting a movie about them?" Hikaru was asking during the break.

"And why is there an entire film crew here to shoot it?" I nodded at the extravagant set and crew in reference.

"Apparently, she flew them in from Hollywood. Don't you recognize the director? He directed the vampire movie, Millennial Snow. It was the No.1 grossing box-office hit in America last year," Kyoya explained.

_Damn these rich people._

"And another thing, how come this stupid script portrays Kaoru as the pitcher?" Hikaru wondered aloud. My ears started burning at his question. I chocked loudly on the water that I was drinking as I comprehended what he said.

"Yeah," Kaoru agreed.

"What does that mean?" Haruhi asked. _Don't you dare soil her virgin ears, you demons._

"If you don't know, never mind," The twins said nonchalantly.

"But I know…I know, I know, I know! And now, I can't get that perverted thought out of my mind. Goddamn you perverts," I complained as I held my hands against my head trying to get rid of the thoughts. _Why did I ever look that up? I am warning you that if you don't know what that means don't look it up. I am still scarred…just don't look it up that is unless you're into yaoi and don't mind the mental scarring from what shows up. But don't say I didn't warn you, readers, because I did. DON'T DO IT..._

"Oh, so you're into that, aren't you, klepto?" Hikaru purred seductively as he got up and stepped towards me.

"No, no, no, it-it just showed up on my scroll one time and I-ah c-clicked it, I swear!"

"Is that it? I don't think it is." Hikaru and Kaoru simultaneously grabbed onto me and pulled me tight into their embrace. "You like this, don't you?" Hikaru whispered into my ear as a blush began to rise on my cheeks and my face started going red. I stopped struggling as they hugged me tighter. I guess I did like it…

"Your face is going red. You must like it," Kaoru grabbed my chin and lifted it up to him as Hikaru held me tighter at the waist.

"Let-t me go! You perverts!" I turned my head from side to side trying to look at both of them at the same time. I tried to get out of their grasp as I started trying to pull their arms off of me. I managed to get Kaoru to let go but before I could get Hikaru off, gravity took over us and we fell down. "Hika-" My words were cut off as I landed on top of Hikaru with my lips planted against his, both of our eyes wide. We were like that for maybe twenty seconds as I looked at him in mute horror. I pulled away quickly after I realized that we were kissing. KISSING! I sat up and leaned away from Hikaru. I looked between him and Kaoru, my face heating up as I tried to form words to explain, to say something. Noticing I was straddling Hikaru, I quickly jumped up and I took a couple of steps back from them, stumbling. It was too much for me. I couldn't handle my feelings. I felt overwhelmed. _Did I like being kissed? I don't know; why could they just leave me alone? Now this…I can't, I can't. It feels so wrong, but why? Because I didn't want it to happen that way or because I don't…my head…it feels so jumbled…and I can't breathe…it's…_ I started running away in embarrassment as my head pounded. I felt myself turning into one of their guests, which is something that I refuse to become. I will not become one of their fangirls.

"Wait, Kenji!" Hikaru shouted, scrambling to get up and follow me. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean for that to happen!"

"No of course you didn't!" I yelled back as a tear rolled down from my eyes as I was running hard away from the set. "Is this what you wanted? To see me like this? Hikaru, you don't realize what it's like. If something happens you can just be Kaoru, but I can't. I can't be anyone else. I'm all I have left. My parents think I'm dead, Haruhi is the closest thing I have to family and you… you're the closest thing I have to a best friend…Can't you see that I… that I…know you only as Hikaru. You have always been Hikaru, never Kaoru, only you. So get it through your think skull that I am not some mindless toy. I am not clueless. I know more than you think. You can forget the scripts and the acting and you can just be yourself and I wouldn't mind... I guess I'll see you tomorrow…"

I wiped the betraying tears from my eyes and I fled from the area at top speed and I only stopped running until I was home. I threw myself on my bed and I sobbed. _How could I be so stupid? How could I say that to one of my only friends? Why are all these emotions eating at me? I don't understand, I don't understand. I just wish everything was simpler. I just want someone to know me, both as Kenji Fujioka and Kaito Tokushima. I wish I could take back today. Why would I say something like that to Hikaru? It was terrible…am I afraid that Hikaru…that I might like Hikaru more than just a…no, maybe, I don't know. Why don't I know? Why don't I know? _

_This is stupid, all this worrying. What has gotten into me? Sure I said some terrible things to Hikaru, but he kissed. Isn't that enough to justify my actions? He did invade my personal boundaries and kiss me. But still, it was rude. Really, Kenji. Who do you want to be? Kaito the girl with the long curly hair and the soft voice who never says anything rude and worries about what others think, especially the boys. Or do you want to be Kenji the girl who acts like a boy, whose sarcastic and rude and doesn't give a damn what others think about her? Do you think you can be both? Do you think that you…_

_NO, stop this. First why am I thinking in the third person and second why decide now? I'll solve my problem with Hikaru and then I figure out the rest of the shit from there. _

* * *

It was several days later when I finally returned to the Host Club. I stayed home for a couple of days, unable to rise from my bed. I had fallen ill, both mentally and physically. I couldn't shake off whatever was plaguing me so I had Haruhi cover for me at the Host Club. I returned that day to the happy cheers of my guests since they were glad to know that I was well again. I made sure to avoid Hikaru and Kaoru, especially Hikaru. No one else saw what happened between us; they were too busy dealing with Renge and those boys that Renge had picked on, but still best to be cautious. I just couldn't help feeling helpless when I thought about what happened. I wanted to change what happened so badly. I caught Hikaru looking at me, trying to get me to talk to him, but I wouldn't budge. I keep turning away him and kept right on avoiding him.

"I bought the video of that film you made!" A girl was saying.

"I bought it too," another said. _So Kyoya still sold it after all, that sneaky bastard. He probably made a fortune. _

"And so did I."

"That scene in the rain was just phenomenal," a girl said dreamily.

"I love the lonely prince!"

"And the loving relationship between Hikaru and Kaoru was so sweet!"

"I want to see Honey acting like a thug again. He was so cute!"

"I want to hear Kenji sing again. His singing gave me shivers. I just loved it."

"Yeah, where did you come up with that song?"

"Oh thank you, I just wrote it one day," I smiled graciously at them and the girls moved on to continue to praise the film.

"I couldn't get enough of Haruhi's poignant expressions…."

"Kyoya?" Tamaki asked Glasses Guy; I bet he was wondering why they were talking about the movie that he thought wasn't going to be sold.

"I may have broken the camera's lens, but the footage that we had already shot wasn't damaged. Naturally, I did cut out that one violent scene. Sales have been pretty good so far. That Hollywood film crew did a fantastic job, but then I guess that's to be expected," Kyoya explained his planning to us.

"So, is this what you meant by interesting?" the twins asked.

"It's best to have as much money as we can in the club's budget."

"And just when did you start calculating all this?" I muttered. "From the beginning?"

"Good day, everyone," Renge said to the group as she came in.

"Renge?" Tamaki said puzzled, "But I thought you went back to France already."

Ignoring him as always, Renge walked over to Haruhi and began talking, "I can't believe I didn't realize this sooner. It was so chivalrous of you to risk your life to protect me. I could feel the love when you lectured me about judging people. When you said it was fun to get to know people little by little, you were talking about me."

"Yeah…" Haruhi trailed off.

"Come on, Haruhi. Let's go to my house and play some games together. I think it's time you got to know me better."

"What?"

"Hey, Kyoya-senpai," Hikaru started while Kaoru finished, "You okay with that?"

"Why wouldn't I be? Everything Renge said is true," Kyoya coolly responded.

"No, it isn't," Tamaki refuted as he started to panic internally.

"But I thought you were the one who wanted her to have a female friend in the first place, aside from Kenji, that is." Kyoya mocked Blondie Boy using Blondie's own words against him.

"Well, yeah, a female companion. Not a girlfriend!" Tamaki clarified freaking out by this point. "No, wait! Don't take Haruhi from me!" Tamaki yelled chasing after Renge and Haruhi.

"Well, I guess I'll be going then." I swiveled on the balls of my feet to face the door.

"Wait, Kenji," Hikaru said grapping onto my arm. "I really am sorry. I didn't mean it to go that far. Will you forgive me?" I tried to look down to the ground, away from him, but Hikaru lifted my chin up so that I look him in his golden eyes. He looked so sincere. Everything that was building up with in me─ the anger, the fear, the confusion─ it all faded away. I forgave him. He didn't need to say anything. For the first time since Mori, I could understand someone without saying anything.

"I think I already have, twin lover," I said quietly as I cracked a little smile and was glad to see it returned on Hikaru's face.

"I am sorry though." Hikaru looked like he was mentally chastising himself.

"I know you are, Hikaru. I would have never forgiven you if you weren't." I playfully shoved at him, but he dodged. "I am also sorry," I said after a moment.

"Why?" He looked puzzled.

"I said those things to you. I shouldn't have. I'm sorry for that," I explained.

"It's okay." He smiled again. "So I've never been Kaoru? Not once to you?"

"Never, twin lover. I have always known you one from the other. Always."

* * *

**Hey ho, readers, FandomAuthor here. Well, why do you call me Sebrof that is my name sort of. I am so glad that you all have read, reviewed, favorited, and followed. It means a lot to me and here I am asking for more. See, I'm having this dilemma. Who should I pair Kenji with: Hikaru or Mori? I feel myself leaning to HikaruxKenji but then again MorixKenji could work too. So review, comment, or PM me with your vote. Thank you once again. Until next time: The Twins Fight** **~Sebrof **

**Oh, and I don't own Ouran. I wish I did and I hope that in some alternate universe I do. :D**

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